Pokemon XD: Storm of Worlds
by Dr. ZalostTealos
Summary: Four years after the events of Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, the Orre region has become barren again with wild Pokemon having left the land for good. The citizens of the isolated region have left their homes to be with the rest of the progressing world. Though time has stopped in Orre, something from the past is stirring within the emptied region. Our heroes must remain vigilant.
1. Episode 1

Years ago in the Orre Region, a great evil nearly conquered the world. Through the use of transforming Pokémon into vicious fighting machines known as Shadow Pokémon, Cipher nearly had their victory over the world until one day they made the mistake of kidnapping a Pokémon Professor known as Professor Krane. On that day, a young hero made it his mission to save him and save the Pokémon that have been transformed under Cipher's captivity. Relentless in his constant pursuit to save the Pokémon, he had come to overwhelm many of Cipher's admins in battle and annihilate their bases of operations in the process.

As famous as his tale was in the Orre Region at the time, no information of what happened in this isolated region reached any of the other more well populated regions of the Pokémon world. Nothing from the Orre Region ever reached the shores of any other region except for the Pokémon of two individuals who have made contact with individuals from the Kanto and the Hoenn Region but even they wouldn't speak of the Orre region to their acquaintances for whatever reason. One of the two individuals from Orre has been missing for the longest time, but the other one is still here after all this time. Grown up and self-taught from his inspiration taken from his father's work and legacy, Michael has taken upon himself to be well educated in mechanical engineering and devices centered around aiding, simulating, and enhancing certain attributes of Pokémon along with strengthening the bond between a trainer and its Pokémon through technology.

On this particular day, sand and dust covered the rust that kept eating away the foundation of the small Pyrite Town Poke Mart shop. The young redheaded engineer kept himself busy fusion cutting and carefully replacing the decaying metal skeleton of the small building. Brushing off the dust the sandstorms brought in over the months this land had to withstand against the storms, Michael felt only a little satisfaction from aiding the resident shopkeeper in restoring his establishment.

"Why do people rely on him?", people might ask themselves when they see this former savior of the world running about in his hovercycle hurrying to meet the needs of the people who have come to ask him for assistance too many times over. Some say that it's because he's just amiable and preferred for assistance. Others say that it's because he feels it is his responsibility to help the region as a sort of "caretaker" of the town's people. In reality however, it's because the common help and services of the scattered towns and establishments are already gone.

Michael knows this, as just the other day when he walked into the police station in Pyrite Town, the chief and his clumsy officer had disappeared only to leave behind a note on their desks describing where they have gone and why. They detailed how the crime rate in Pyrite Town has been so low that they were actually struggling on keeping themselves financed with how peaceful it has been. Probably because all the residents of Pyrite Town have started to disappear from their homes, including the more troublesome residents like the Gate Keeper Cail who's had conflicts with the law enforcement before. Outside of Pyrite, crime has stopped entirely in the Orre Region with the decline of its population.

Towns scattered across the region from Gateon Port to Phenac City have been losing their inhabitants to the gradual exodus out of the region. Employees of the ONBS building and its organization have left the Orre region to places where they can get better pay from news stations with more revenue from their viewers. Places such as the Hoenn region or the Sinnoh region, anywhere but the Orre region for the working class. Pokemon battling became out of fashion two years ago when the authorities on the colosseum challenges, including all Mt. Battle challenge modes, were drawn out of the region by a corporation in Sinnoh that was building a trainer's resort on an island city far away.

Every month, people leave and disappear by the dozens as they never leave any trace behind besides their empty abodes. Pyrite Town has been the most hallow next to Gateon Port. Phenac City and Agate Village are the last two towns that still have a population more than five. The Colosseums are emptied and tournaments are never held anymore as trainers find more interesting battles in the more popular and populated regions. The Realgam Tower's luxurious hotels have only a handful of rich dwellers while their employees have either been let off or allowed to stay to continue to earn their pay for their days of service for the higher class.

The red headed, blue headband wearing teenage boy stood up and dropped the unlit fusion cutter and his protective mask. He wiped the sweat off his forehead as he reviewed his work. Beside him on the cement floor was his old Umbreon looking up at him with anticipation for their return to the HQ Lab. Michael patted his Pokémon's head and rubbed behind his ears for a brief moment before walking into the rusted cylindrical building to talk with the shopkeeper.

Inside the shop, shelves full of Pokémon foods and groceries lined the edges remained untouched by the few citizens that still live in Pyrite Town. Thin layers of dust had accumulated over the merchandise and the cash register has only been opened twice this month. The floors have been kept swept but only to an extent as the shopkeeper now spends his days laying back in his chair watching the small retro television on his desk tuned into to the ONBS station for the daily news.

The shopkeeper, a brown haired simple man dressed in a blue shirt, jeans, and apron listened to the news as well as Michael's footsteps drawing near has he was half asleep in his chair.

"How could anyone do such a thing to you? That's horrible!", the voice of a female interviewer said coming from the television set.

"I know but I'm not at all angry about it now. Even if he doesn't credit me, at least my designs and effort aren't going to waste.", Michael's voice followed the interviewer's reaction.

The shopkeeper glanced at the television screen for a moment before facing the yellow vested boy in person standing in front of his counter. He tilted his head and said with a sympathetic tone as he scratched his right eyebrow, "Sorry that happened".

"It's fine. But it won't happen again.", the red headed teen assured him, wiping the leftover sweat off of his eyebrows.

The shopkeeper nodded before handing over a check for one thousand Poké Dollars. Michael grabbed it and stuffed it into his black fanny pack hanging around the back of his waist. To Michael, money was no object, but people who remember what he has done for them still pay him for his services regardless of how small the tasks might be.

Now having been dismissed, Michael walked out of the shop and returned his Umbreon by his side on his way to his hovercycle parked outside of town. Walking back down the streets, in the corner of his sight something caught his attention. He turned to see Duking emerging from the fortune teller's chamber waving at him.

Duking was once the leader in the Orre region's attempt to rediscover Wild Pokémon in nature again. The burly but big hearted man had spent years searching for Wild Pokémon in spanning more tua the five years of the two Shadow Pokémon incidents to finally discover returning wildlife during the second incident. However after the incident was over, the people of Orre seemed to either have scared off the Wild Pokémon off or caught them all in their excitement as they have not returned to the Orre region for the longest time again. The Poke Spots Duking discovered would not draw Wild Pokémon anymore no matter how many Poke Snacks he left on the plates. Heartbroken, he turned to living life quietly in regret in his Pyrite Town trying to assist Michael in any way he can trying to keep the town from rotting into ruin

"Michael! Fateen wants to see you! She says it's urgent, must be very important lad. I'll be in the hotel cleaning out rooms if I'm needed.", he said before walking off around the junkyard behind the fortune teller's hut to the hotel just around the corner.

The red headed boy wondered what could possibly be the cause for his presence. He did not think much of the fortune teller's messages back when he was busy fighting the second Shadow Pokémon incident. Her cryptic messages indicating what he had to do next did not help him so much as it confuses him. Although he'd eventually figure them out as soon as something happened that seemed like what she was pretending. He would prefer not to know however as when he does realize what her messages meant his mind would be blown apart in astonishment.

"What now?", he wondered as he stepped through the cloth of the mystical elder of Pyrite Town.

Looking into the darkened room illuminated only by the crystal ball on her table, he slowly stepped through the curtains at the door. The unusually dark room felt more ominous as the mother of Pyrite Town sat behind her table with her glasses shining off of the crystal ball. It seemed as the though the entire room was a dark void with only the table, the crystal ball, and the fortune teller visible.

"It's good to see you again child. Please step forward.", she requested of him.

The yellow vested teen stepped forward and stood before the table to pay attention to what Fateen had to say.

"Michael. I have seen a vision of the future… Your future… an uncertain future."

"Is that so?", he replied a little intrigued.

"We are here. The message will be delivered. Are you ready Michael?, she asked as she held her hands in the air around the crystal ball on the table.

The boy nodded, but his response was not enough apparently.

"Tell me you are ready to hear this message. Michael.", she demanded of him.

"I am ready! … (Hope this doesn't take long)…," he whispered to himself as he imagined himself back in the comfort of his laboratory home.

The elder looked into the crystal ball as Michael watched. She hummed a small tune before the crystal ball suddenly illuminated the entire room in a flash. Michael shielded his eyes from the blinding light for a moment before the crystal dimmed its light to normal. He looked into the crystal ball to stare into a small abyss within the gem as the elder spoke in another cryptic language.

"…I see… a clash in the clouds… between worlds… what has been forgotten will rise again… the shadows of our past will reawaken…. A storm is coming… an unstoppable gale of darkness… Times change."

"Times change?", Michael asked for the obscure phase that seemed out of line for what Fateen was just talking about.

"Times will change. That is my message for you. I cannot tell what it means, but I'm afraid you should proceed with caution in your daily cycles these next few days. I can't promise everything will be alright, but…. Just be careful.", Fateen warned him as she adjusted her circular glasses that shook from the dread she felt inside.

Michael couldn't wrap his head around what she could possibly be warning him of. He looked into the crystal ball to see nothing but an abyss of darkness. Whatever Fateen was seeing, he could only imagine it as something either terrible or just rambling of a probably senile old lady.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for telling me…", the redheaded boy thanked her politely although he was still very confused.

Just before he walked out of the hut, he waved goodbye to the old lady. Upon glimpsing upon the crystal ball from the distance he was at the door however, he could see a pair of red glowing eyes in the abyss looking back at him. Without hesitation, he quickly walked away from the hut and pretended he didn't see what he just saw.

Later in the middle of the Orre Region's desert, Michael zipped across the sand in his hovercycle with is goggles shielding his eyes from the dust. As he calmly traversed through the desert, he spotted a single familiar red hover truck stranded in the middle of the wasteland in the distance. When he squinted at it, he could see that it was the old truck the Cipher peons used to kidnap Professor Krane. In the middle of the desert away from the abandoned Cipher laboratory, what could it possibly be doing in the middle of nowhere?

"Huh…. Maybe I should take a closer look?", he asked himself considering anything to do with the old evil criminal syndicate that is out of place should be inspected for safety reasons.

Hovering over to the vehicle, the goggled redheaded boy stepped off of his hovercycle and walked over to the front end of the immobile vehicle. The first thing he noticed that seemed unusual about it as he approached it however was how clean the coat of paint was on its surface. He proceeded to peer through the windshield to see the driver seats were empty and no traces of the drivers were apparent in the seats of the hover truck. The seat cushions seemed to be in mint condition rather than torn and decayed from the last time he remembered seeing this truck.

"Has somebody been driving this? It looks like its fresh out of a factory…. But who would drive it out here?"

Proceeding with his investigation, he walked to the back of the truck. His attempts to lift the truck's rear cargo hold were unsuccessful as it seemed to have been locked.

"Hm…. Hitmonchan!", he called out one of one of his trusty old former Shadow Pokémon out of his Ultra Ball.

The battle ready punching Pokémon emerged from its ball and turned its head at Michael ready for his command.

"Use Brick Break on the truck! I want to see what's inside!"

The Hitmonchan nodded at his trainer and raised its arm upward before smashing the rear of the vehicle and tearing the metal bits and pieces away for his trainer to inspect the cargo. Michael could finally see what was inside… before he became genuinely unsettled at what he was seeing.

"…. What the heck is that?!", he exclaimed as he stared at the anomalous circular object hovering within the truck.

Before he could find the words to describe it, the unidentifiable object suddenly zipped forward and collided with Michael's forehead. He blacked out for a brief moment before he regained his consciousness to see Hitmonchan looking down on him on the sand as if he had been knocked out for a considerable amount of time

"Owww!...What was that?! The heck was that?! That hurt!", he said as he picked himself up and rubbed the bump on his forehead.

He tried to see where the object had flown to but it was already out of sight when he tried to spot it again. Then suddenly his P DA (Pokémon Digital Assistant) vibrated with an old familiar ringtone that has been unchanged for years. The red headed boy grabbed this device and slid the cover around its Poke Ball pattern and opened the monitoring screens for his Trainer ID and functions such as the rarely used Poke Spot Monitor, the never-used Shadow Monitor, the Strategy Memo for displaying information on Pokémon including their abilities and types, and his Mailbox for sending and receiving electronic messages to and from friends and family. The mailbox icon was vibrating, signaling he has just been sent a message.

"What is this?"

A message from Professor Krane back in the HQ Lab was inside the inbox. The red headed teenage boy selected it and opened it to read it off of the screen.

"Michael! Something just shot through the windows of the lobby and smashed through the building! The Purify Chamber's consoles were smashed to bits! Nobody was hurt thank goodness but it's a mess here! Please come back as soon as you can!", read the text message from the Pokémon Professor.

After a fast zoom across the desert into the forest region in the Western part of Orre, Michael arrived at the white building with the large holographic Poke Ball displayed over the roof of the entrance to the lobby. The large windows that protected the employees from the elements had a large gaping hole shattered in its barely stable cracked surface.

Running through the automatic glass doors he nearly injured himself when he almost slipped on the mess of glass shards scattered across the floor. The receptionist was not at her desk but no signs of injury were apparent in her space. Michael carefully stepped through the shattered glass to the damaged entrance to the Purify Chamber room. The automatic doors were shut however, and sparks flew when the red head tried to approach it to trigger its opening mechanism with its sensors.

"Through the windows!" a voice shouted from inside the Purify Chamber room.

Michael stepped around the outer wall of the chamber room to see where the object had crashed through. The windows that surrounded the chamber room have been shattered completely with glass lying all over the floor. It has left a gap that seemed big enough for him to stride through though. Stepping into the chamber from across the broken glass, he was met with his mother, Lily, and Krane who was holding a wide broom to clean the mess. Behind them, Michael could see the object had crashed through the consoles of the Purify Chamber and pierced the building out into the forest. A warm draft could be felt in the room from the new outdoor exit.

"I'm glad he's not here to see this….", his mother mumbled referencing to Michael's father.

"Do any of you know what was it? What crashed through here?", the red headed boy asked with great curiosity as he looked about at the debris on the floor.

"It was too quick! I was in your workshop tending to your inventions on display when I heard glass shattering and an ear popping explosion immediately after. None of us caught sight of what it was but the receptionist.", Krane said as he swept wires and metal across the floor with his broom.

"She said it looked spherical in appearance, but she had to cover her eyes when the glass flew at her.", Lily added.

Upon hearing their statements, Michael and immediately thought back to the strange floating anomaly he found in Cipher's hover truck in the middle of the desert. Then he remembered Fateen's warning. He could remember within her cryptic message warning. The anomalous object he found was slightly spherical in appearance but he couldn't identify it properly before it knocked him out. If that had anything to do with her prediction, he can't explain why at the moment for it is still mysterious and unknown.

"I'm sorry I have to ask you this, but could you possibly find a way to patch the hole in the wall? You know how it is not having as much help around here as before… we'll do something about the windows though don't worry about that.", the brown haired professor requested before turning to the broken automatic door to examine it's condition.

"I could go to Gateon Port to see if there's anything for the Purify Chamber at Makan's shop, but these holes through the chamber room will just have to be patched up with welded metal sheets or boarded up for the time being.", Michael stated his quick-fix solution to his two mentors.

Shortly after having exited out of the Purify Chamber room through the hole in the wall, Michael walked up to the door of his workshop and triggered the voice activated security system he invented himself. Only he, his family, and Professor Krane knew the password to his workshop as it used to be the room where research on his old Snag Machine was held.

After Cipher was destroyed and all the Shadow Pokémon were purified, Michael decided at some point, after retiring from taking the Orre Colosseum challenges, in his time to take this room and the secret room below it to be his personalized tinkering workshop for his own inventions and research for various topics, most involving trainer enhancements or Pokémon interaction tools inspired by his father's work in the Purify Chamber and Snag Machine. Many different gadgets and engineering solutions have been developed over the years in this workshop with the occasional help of Dr. Kaminko and his assistant Chobin. (To an extent before Michael would ask them not to help anymore as it is their habit to make counter-productive inventions meant to do harm such as their "Unhealthy Sandles" invention. Although Chobin does try to improve himself in his judgement of efficient inventions now.)

"P-PLEASE SPEAK P-PASSWORD TO ENTER.", the security system requested in a metallic stuttering electronic voice.

"Extra Dimension.", Michael spoke the password to the small microphone installed beside the door.

"A-ACCESS GRANTED…"

The door opened and Michael was allowed within his workshop once again. He was glad to see nothing was damaged by impact of the object. The warm air from within the room conflicted with the cold air of the ground floor of the laboratory wing. On this floor, he has metal shelves and tables decorated with many different displayed gadgets and gizmos he has created. Designs and formulas for different concepts were drawn on his white board canvass in the back of the room with a rotating electric generator attached to the wall beside it staying operational and benefitting the entire building even with the damage that has been dealt to the building.

Sitting on top of a table was a closed deployable miniature Pokémon healing station that takes one Pokémon containing Poke Ball at a time to heal before a thirty second cool down period after every patient. Michael named it the Pocket Pokémon Center for its useful ability to fold itself up into a small, but heavy, octagonal shaped metal box for traveling Pokémon Trainers.

Beside the Pocket Station was another deployable but bulkier cylindrical device inspired by the anomaly of a late rival of his he met and repeatedly encountered during the last Shadow Pokémon incident. The anomaly being when the rival in question would say "Let the music play!", or something similar to that command, there would always be a mysterious but upbeat and addicting disco music "theme" that would play out of nowhere even if they're alone in a cave or on top of a lighthouse. Programmed with Michael's personal choice of music fit to dance to with people and Pokémon, the device is most often used at parties or social gatherings. This would have been used within the first year it was made shortly after the last Shadow Pokémon incident before it was left alone and neglected in the underground secretive portion of the workshop for years until recently when Michael decided to have his own personal renaissance.

Lining the shelves are different applications for an experimental handheld Pokémon interactive gaming device similarly built and inspired by the SIM CD Battle systems used exclusively in the Orre Region. Different applications hold different games and scenarios for a Pokémon and its trainer to play through together for bonding and training. Applications such a basketball game, a punching bag training game, a free roaming virtual ranch for Pokémon to graze, a soccer ball training game, and an art game where the Pokémon would be given a canvass and different colors of paint to express its creativity with the aid of its trainer. Of all the virtual add-ons, only two of them have been recognized by an influential power outside of the Orre region that would result in a mutual beneficial relationship between Michael and the mutual friend he had accidentally met until he learned what it felt like to be the victim of plagiarism.

"At least my work is being put to good use….", Michael said to himself, stepping in front of the automatic sliding floor door to the hidden set of stairs to the lower workshop.

As he stepped down his stairs he immediately realized the lights were already on in his inner domain. Passing through the shelves of more prototype inventions and piles of scrapped work he listened to the hasty echoing voice of his younger blue haired sister Jovi.

Jovi has grown a lot over the years since the last Shadow Pokémon incident. Eleven years old, she no longer refers to herself in third person, her vocabulary has grown, and is more mature but she still has the heart of a child. More often than not, she'll playfully address her big brother as "big brother" or "big bro" just to be friendly.

In the deepest part of his workshop, a series of different inventions, scrapped and completed, are on display on the shelves mounted on his wall along with special glass cases holding different gadgets he had made. A few of his inventions are messily strewn across the floor in the corner of the room, tangled with wires and parts. His Snag Machine and Aura Reader are kept clean in a special glass display case for sentimental purposes.

"Hurry Bonnie! Send back Dusclops before my brother catches us!", her voice echoed and bounced through the metal walls of the underground two-roomed bunker.

Upon hearing her, Michael sighed in slight disappointment as he walked through the doorway to his office where an eleven year old blue haired girl dressed in a blue frilly short sleeved dress with white shorts was sitting at his desk sending a Poke Ball through a GTS emulator with the little sister of his former mutual friend. Jovi looked back at Michael from where she was sitting with his desk facing a wall. She smiled nervously and waved at him in greeting.

"Oh… hai! Big brother! I was not just trading your Dusclops over to Clemont's little sister so that she could trade it back to me with a special little item or anything heh…"

Michael stood beside her to see the monitor show a brief glimpse of the blonde young little girl closing out of the call as soon as he came into the camera's view. Dusclop's Poke Ball materialized in the Poke Ball slot of the GTS Emulator and was immediately swiped by the blue haired girl. The older sibling looked at his younger sibling with a neutral expression.

"Okay maybe we might have… but it's back! I'll send it back to your PC just give me another second."

"It's alright Jovi. I don't care if you and Bonnie want to stay pen pals. I'm not angry with her brother anymore, but I'd prefer that he isn't mentioned for a while…", Michael replied ensuring his younger sister that it's okay to stay friends with the his former friend's little sister.

Jovi's blue eyes widened before she smiled knowing she can still keep in touch with her little French friend. The blue dressed girl thanked her older brother saying, "Thanks big brother! You don't mind if use your computer a little bit more do you?"

"Not at all. I'll just be getting some vouchers for the Makan's shop in Gateon Port to repair the damage upstairs."

"Damage? What happened?", she asked suggesting she was unaware of the incident upstairs.

"You don't know? It's a mess up there. Something crashed through the front windows and pierced through the Purify Chamber room like a meteor…. But we didn't see what it was exactly. We don't know what it is for sure…"

"Something crashed through the windows upstairs? Was that the sound I heard not to long ago? I just thought someone tripped on something and made a big bang when he landed… someone heavy I'd think...", Jovi explained as she looked back into Dusclop's Poke Ball to suddenly gasp a little in shock when she saw the Dusclops wasn't Dusclops anymore.

"We all wish that was the case.,", Michael replied grinning at the amusing thought.

"Where's Mimi and Pluplu? You didn't trade them over to Bonnie did you?"

Jovi turned away from the Poke Ball and aced Michael again before answering with a guilty sheepish tone as she looked to the floor with her big blue eyes.

"I…. Might have…. They'll come back though! They needed a little change of scenery. Bonnie tells me Lumiose City is a beautiful place to live in. She promised she'll trade them back as soon when they miss us."

Michael was silent for a moment; thinking about that concept of leaving the Orre region for better places. The fact that Pokémon would want to leave Orre seemed reminiscent of the old days before the first Shadow Pokémon incident occurred and was resolved. The Minun and Plusle that stuck with their family since before their father's passing must really have wanted to leave the Orre region, but why? Then again… why not? The red headed teen knew that nothing really happens in the Orre Region anymore. He would leave the Orre region too if he could. The wild Pokémon that once returned to the region had disappeared again, leaving no reason for exploring trainers to visit the desolate region. It was previously thought however that it was because of Cipher's existence that leads to the exodus of the wild Pokémon of the Orre region in the first place. That doesn't seem to be the case right now.

"…. Well I don't blame them. Have fun with Bonnie. I'm going to Gateon Port and will be back in maybe an hour or two.", he said as he opened drawers filled with papers and expired Battle Coupons for the vouchers.

Michael pulled open a drawer to immediately see the remote control to one of his inventions. A large flat controller with the flat screen built on it was made for a specific invention that had become the last collaboration between him and Bonnie's older brother. He turned to see the prototype of the invention he had built still laying back next to a pile of scrapped gadgets and metal.

The machine was the metal skeleton of a holographic skinned automaton. It was inspired by what he knew of the foreign Pokémon, Zoroark, who had the ability to change its appearance in an illusion it could make. The concept behind the invention was that it could stand up and take the holographic shape of a person based on scanning the body type of a subject and physical details of his or her clothing and visible flesh. The limbs and spine of the skeleton are extendable for adapting the body to take the shape of any body type the robot scans. It is currently programmed in its memory to mimic Michael's appearance. This would have been used for making guides in a battle facility or for making virtual caretakers for people's Pokémon. The possibilities of use were virtually endless, but there's one thing that Michael didn't have that his former mutual friend had. An audience and direct contact to big name corporate funders like Game Freak and Silph Co. The Orre Region cannot provide anything to help Michael be recognized by people outside of the isolated region.

"… It's fine. I didn't want to be known anyway. Not me or anyone here in Orre…", Michael mumbled to himself in a slightly agitated sarcastic tone as he pushed the drawer back.

"Maybe we'd all be better off inventing combustible Nomel berries for burning down all these empty useless houses in this stupid….rrggh…", he grumbled in his frustration

Michael grabbed the scrunched up vouchers and stuffed them into his pant pockets. His feelings of negativity were quickly expelled when he turned about face to see Jovi standing in front of him with his Dusclop's Poke Ball in her hands. When he looked into the Poke Ball from where he stood however, it didn't look like Dusclops.

"Two things. First of all uh… well… big brother… I accidentally evolved your Dusclops into this new strange Pokémon… so congratulations on your new Pokémon! And second, can I come with you to Gateon Port too?"

Michael was speechless in that moment he peered into the Poke Ball. He raised his eyebrows as he viewed the strange legless specter of a Pokémon with a single red eye glowing within the empty cavity of its head. Its resemblance to its previous evolutions was uncanny but it looked even more menacing than its younger pre-evolved forms.

"Uhh….. well that's alright. You can come along if you want, and bring whatever Dusclops is if you'd like. But you do know that your friend is not there anymore right?", he asked his sibling.

"Yeah I know… but I just want to see the ocean again. Maybe see the sunset if we stay there long enough… you don't mind me coming along?"

"Not at all. You're taking your cycle right?"

"Of course! I wouldn't want to ride backseat on your old scooter again like back in the old days. As fun as it was riding backseat, I really like riding on my own hovercycle!", she exclaimed with a little happy cheer.

"So I see…. Want to race there then? If you know the way of course.", he suggested jokingly with a new little smile.

"Yeah! Let's start now!"

"Huh? Now?", he asked expecting her not expecting her to be serious.

"Yeah! Ready? Steady? GO!", she shouted before darting off with his newly evolved Pokémon in its ball.

Before he could speak, Jovi was already gone and running up the stairs. Michael hesitated in a moment of regret at his suggestion. He had been planning stay for a while before leaving the lab again on his hovercycle. He'll just have to race her to Gateon Port now before he can get a brief moment of rest in his previously planned schedule consisting of a lot of rest at home. The yellow vested boy with black under shirt charged forward and returned up the stairs after his younger sister.

By the time he exited his workshop and looked out through the broken windows past the water fountains of the lawn, he could see Jovi riding her blue hovercycle out through the forest and beginning to accelerate increasingly in speed. He was struck at how fast she was but kept his footing around the mess of glass on the floor as he proceeded out the automatic sliding glass doors.

Through the vehicle trails of the forested fraction of Orre, Michael zoomed across the vegetated roads on his hovercycle. The wind blew against his face in his speed but his goggles helped shield his eyes. After enduring more acceleration and controlled turns he finally could see Jovi far ahead of him on her blue hovercycle.

The azure dressed little sister looked back at her brother though her rear view glass and realized he was catching up. She then floored the acceleration pedal and reached a speed Michael could not compare to. The dust that kicked up temporarily blinded him before he realized they were already approaching the clearing to Gateon Port's gateway.

The redheaded boy was going to let her win anyway but he didn't think she would be so fast in her own hovercycle. He floored his pedal and tried to keep himself behind her until they inevitably reached the port town at the gate. Jovi slowed down almost suddenly when she started approaching the stone pathway to the stairs of the gateway but in doing so, she almost flipped herself over off of her seat.

"Woah!", she shouted before sitting back down on her hovercycle.

Michael saw what almost happened to his sister and immediately rushed beside her to see if she was alright. He parked his hovercycle next to hers and asked with concern.

"Are you alright? That looked like you were going to flip over on your back! Are you okay?"

Jovi turned off her hovercycle and turned to her older brother saying with a smile and a cheery tone, "I win! Heehee!"

Michael was a little miffed by how reckless she was for the sake of winning their little race but he couldn't help but chuckle and smile back in admitting defeat to his happy little sister.

"I'll be more careful next time… Let's go to Makan's shop! That's where we're going right?" she asked.

"Right, then we go home.", Michael replied wanting to get some rest for his back.

The siblings stepped forward onto a stone path leading to the stairs downward onto the main square of the town. The big sign that said "Welcome" at the entrance to the port town has shown to be neglected after seeing the cracks and faded paint within the structure of the sign post. The light inside it seems to be malfunctioning as it blinks every so often as it tries to keep itself illuminated. Aside from the site of the decaying welcoming sign, the vast blue ocean that still kept its luster even after time has passed was still ever present in Gateon Port.

"Look at the sea! Still as big as I remember! Aww look at it big brother! Soon it will be sunset and it will be so beautiful!"

Michael nodded in recognition of the natural beauty and vastness of the ocean from where they stood at the top of the stairs. A portion of the town is built on cement spires sticking out from the ocean water within the port. To get to the houses and places on these tall blocks of cement, rotating bridges are present for people to traverse through and align for ships to enter and exit the port safely. Two floor switches on the bases of the two rotating bridges exist for the vary purpose of arranging the paths for the convenience and safety of everyone. The blue haired girl scanned the town for a pair of certain familiar faces she remembered encountering with her brother the first time she arrived however Emili and Acri are nowhere in sight.

"Aww…. It's too bad they're not here…", she muttered with lament for their long lost friends.

"I know. But at least they were here when we were.", Michael replied.

The two stepped forward down the stairs and suddenly paused when they both remembered an event that happened that day during the last Shadow Pokémon incident. Jovi remembered vividly of the brute that bullied her when she accidentally bumped into him in her excitement of seeing the ocean for the first time. Michael also remembered standing between her and the brute when he threated to beat them both with his Shadow Zangoose.

"Wow…. Do you remember that one time?", the little sister asked

"Yep…", the big brother answered.

"And Mr. Verich and his… wow this was so long ago… heh what are the odds of that happening again?", she added with a curious tone.

Jovi walked forward a few steps before turning to Michael again as he said.

"Not likely… especially since they're both probably detained right now."

Out of the right corner of his eyes, he saw a dark partially cloaked figure walking through their path. It was walking their way from the Pokémon Center in the Eastern part of the port town. (In perspective to one entering the town from the gateway) He kept an eye on the man as Michael listened to his sister.

"That's too bad. Maybe they'll come back as better people now.", Jovi suggested a hopeful solution before she faced the ocean again and started running for one of the piers but about to intersect with the other person's path.

"H-Hey! Jovi!", he called his sister out to warn her of the impending pedestrian.

But it was too late, Jovi bumped into the passerby and was knocked flat on her rear again in a flash of déjà vu before her eyes. She was on the ground rubbing her head from the impact she endured from the collision.

"Ow…. Huh?", she expressed her sudden surprise to see a tall man dressed in a dark cloak and top hat.

"Oh! My apologies! It seems I should be more aware of the existence of people here. It's so empty here you see I had previously believed this town was devoid of life if you know what I mean.", said the stranger.

Michael walked up beside his sister still sitting on the ground and pulled her up before he confronted the stranger to see who he was. The stranger was a tall caped gray haired but rather handsome young man that appeared to be in his early twenties. He wore a black cloak around his left arm and a black top hat on his head. He had blue eyes and a black long sleeved fastened shirt on his torso connecting to his legs with black boots on his feet.

"Who might you two be? May I ask?", asked the mysterious cloaked stranger.

Michael was about to answer when Jovi interrupted him.

"My name is Jovi. And this is my older brother Michael! He's with me.", she said in a manner reminiscent of her old young self. Michael shrugged and played along with the idea of her being the leader just to amuse her.

"Ahh! Michael and Jovi! The children of the scientist that invented man-made Shadow Pokémon purification process right? I've heard that you have been quite a hero in the past, but what do you do nowadays?"

Michael didn't know how or why he should answer to that question without knowing who he is talking to. He had never seen him before in Orre. In all his years of knowing everyone in the region, he had never seen this man before.

"Might we know who you are first?", Michael requested of the stranger.

"Oh I'm sorry. My name is Seth. I am a magician coming here to practice the art of illusions at the Krabby Club. Unlike Razzle and Dazzle however, I do not rely on cheap tricks to snag my audience's attention. Only real magic will do."

"Really?", Michael replied a little intrigued by his occupation.

"Wow! A magician?! Can you do magic now?", Jovi asked of the dark dressed magician with enthusiasm.

Michael watched as the man leaned forward toward Jovi and hypnotized her with his blue hypnotic eyes before pulling a blue rose behind her ear with his right hand. He then placed the trimmed blue rose into the palm of her left hand.

The two siblings were in awe as they both just experienced a classic illusion of magic. Michael could only assume the stranger pulled the rose out of his sleeve but the sleeve appeared to be too tight to slip anything inside.

"That is just a sample. I have infinitely more impressive tricks to display at the Krabby Club later tonight. Although I know there probably won't be a large crowd, I will perform never the less. For now I must bid you both adieus.", he said before walking off to the western part of the city towards the Makan's Parts Shop.

Michael stared with curiosity at the stranger disappearing into the parts shop while Jovi sniffed the blue rose and giggled from what she had just experienced.

"Well… he seems polite.", the red spiky haired boy observed as he neutrally watched his younger sister smile and blush with the blue rose in her hands.

"He's so cool! Can we see his show later Michael? I want to see the sunset too but now I want to see his tricks too!", the blue haired girl exclaimed with enthusiasm.

He quickly thought over the possibility of staying for the show but he knew he would have to get back to the lab to repair the wall eventually. Whether he does it sooner or later it probably wouldn't matter if they enjoy themselves with a little excitement they don't see every day in Orre.

"We're going to have to follow him into Makan's shop anyway. Let's go get what we came here for then stay around a little for the show and sunset.", Michael proclaimed his plan to accommodate for what his sister wanted.

"Alright! Let's go then!", she urged with enthusiasm.

They made their way to the shop with the giant rotating chrome motorcycle model that is surprisingly still spinning and clean against the elements it has been exposed to in time. The two entered the automatic doors of the shop to see Perr in his blue overalls and red knit cap asleep behind the counter of a nearly empty shop with his face buried in his arms. Seth was standing between two shelves looking at a bottle of emergency coolant for overheating mechanisms. Michael immediately walked up to Perr while his sister admired Seth from a little distance in the shop.

"Hello? Perr?", Michael called him in his attempt to wake him up.

"….Snore…zzzz….", Perr sounded in his slumber.

Michael called out his name again and poked him on the shoulder. Upon touching his shoulder, Perr jumped and was startled at the revelation of a customer inside the shop.

"OH! Oh sorry Michael! I uh… I didn't think we'd still get customers… like we didn't get customers yesterday or the day before that…. And the day before that…. What do you need? How's Professor Krane? Everything good these days?"

Michael explained what happened at the HQ Lab involving the mysterious disappearing spherical object that crashed through the lab building. Perr was astounded at the news. He had never heard anything like it since Michael told him Professor Krane was kidnapped by Cipher. While Michael spoke, Jovi was found out by the magician that she was admiring him in secret with the blue rose still in her hands.

"Are you a trainer by any chance?", Seth asked of the blue haired girl.

"Oh! I… uhm…. Well I do own Pokémon… but the ones I have with me aren't really caught by me."

"Oh? May I see them?", the magician asked again.

Jovi pulled out three Poke Balls out of the pockets of her blue dress. Michael's unidentifiable Dusclops evolution and two of Bonnie's Pokémon were in their balls in her hands. The magician nodded upon seeing these three foreign unidentifiable Pokémon.

"That one used to be my brother's Dusclops. And these two belong to my pen pal in another region far away from here.", Jovi explained.

"So I see….. but you can't explain what they are. None of us can. These Pokémon do not belong in the Orre region ergo we don't have the technology to collect data off of them… but I have a solution for you and your brother. Here."

The magician reached under his cloak with his free right hand and pulled out a small microchip add-on for a P DA and a small hand-held two screened folding device with a camera lens in the back of the gadget. Jovi slipped the add-on into her pockets and activated the two-screened folded device to see what purpose it served. With her left hand she held the Dusclops evolution in its ball ad viewed it within the device.

"It is…. A Dusknoir? This thing helps us know what these different Pokémon are?", she asked astounded by the invention.

"As will the add-on for the P DA…. It will upgrade the Strategy Memo feature with the ability to identify even more Pokémon that have never been seen in the Orre region. Treat it with care.", he told her before returning to browsing the merchandise.

"Are you an inventor too? My brother tinkers with stuff like these in his free time. Are you?", she asked as she switched the Dusknoir for one of Bonnie's Pokémon to scan with the device.

Just then, Michael intervened after having received a heavy backpack full of repairing materials and parts for the Purify Chamber. Jovi turned to see Michael looking at the device in her hands with his eyebrows raised with curiosity.

"Uhm… is that yours?", he asked a little awkwardly to his sister.

"He gave it to me! Look! Now we know what your Dusclops has evolved into!", Jovi explained with her usual enthusiasm.

Michael held the device and viewed the two screens of the gadget. The top screen showed the Pokémon and its name while the bottom displayed its stats and moves. He can now be familiar with his new Dusknoir but he didn't understand why Jovi was given this device. He took his eyes off the gadget to briefly look about for the magician but it seems he had disappeared when Jovi turned his attention to her brother to show him the device.

"He's gone? …. Wasn't he just here?", he asked a little befuddled at how quickly he disappeared.

"We followed him in here. But I guess he really had somewhere to go huh?"

"He probably just disappeared like a real magician! But don't worry big brother. He also gave me an add-on for your P DA so you too can know about these new strange new Pokémon. Here!", Jovi proclaimed as she presented the microchip from her blue pockets.

Michael took the small plastic cased microchip and looked for any kind of label on it. He could only see the initials, N.U.F. on the cap of the small microchip casing. He uncapped it and plugged it into his P DA and in less than a second; his Strategy Memo was updated with three new Pokémon. His new Pokémon being Dusknoir, and two previous Pokémon he had encountered in his last journey four years ago, a Munchlax owned by an old lady who lived in Gateon Port and a Bonsly owned by a little girl who had lost it on the S.S. Libra before Michael found it and brought it back to her safely.

"Flabébé! And Dedenne! That's what these two Pokémon are!", the blue haired girl happily proclaimed her discoveries with the device held over her two imported Poke Balls.

"Not like I didn't already know. Bonnie told me what they were before we traded."

"Well… I guess he's generous…", Michael observed of the magician again closing his P DA and slipping it into his black fanny pack around the back of his waist.

"I think he is an inventor like you! Maybe you two could be friends!", Jovi suggested with a happy tone.

"I don't know…. The last time I made friends with an inventor it didn't end well for me. As you already know.", Michael said shaking his head in doubt.

"Oh…. Well I'm sure Seth wouldn't do such a thing like Bonnie's brother did. Not every inventor you'd meet would do such a thing I'm sure. People can be nice."

"Yeah well…. Maybe when we see people again in Orre… I'll try to remember that…"

With the heavy bag strapped to the boy's back, the siblings were at the door and out waving back at Perr at the counter before he resumed his sleeping position in the empty store for machines.

Upon exiting, Jovi turned to her right to see the house her friend's family once lived in. Emili,and her mother Acri, will not be found in that house anymore but they might have left something behind. Curiosity provoked Jovi to ask her brother if they could go visit her old friend's house.

Although he didn't care for the idea, Michael led Jovi to the door of the empty house and opened the front door. Inside they immediately felt a cold dusty chill from the interior of the abandoned house. Ironically for being in a generally arid region, this house has been kept cool since the departure of the house owners. It could be because of how close it is to the ocean especially considering it being literally on the edge of town with the ocean being right beside with a five foot drop to the ocean's surface.

"Don't know what you're expecting to see here….", Michael stated looking about at the empty living spaces.

The television mounted on the wall facing them appeared to still be operational even after having been left off for so long. Just past the living room was the only other room in the house being the bedroom. The mattress was removed and only a few dusty books remained on the bookshelves on the wall of the sleeping space. When Michael examined the few books that were left on the shelf, he could see a small number of books that apparently Acri left behind.

"That's right she was a writer… a journalist too? I think? … it's been too long since I've paid attention to her."

Michael pulled a plastic covered book off of the shelf that seemed to have been published by Acri. It was titled, "Orre's Origins.", a book of myths created by the imagination of the author. There was a disclaimer on the first page of the book as Michael inspected its pages. It read, "All of these stories were inspired by short documentations of Orre's obscure history. It was hard finding any information on Orre's past as it seemed there are no real lore keepers in this region but I will rise to the challenge of providing an imaginative tale for the reader to read."

Michael skimmed a few pages of the book to catch glimpses of a small myth detailing about a mythical Pokémon having brought humans to the Orre desert as punishment for their misdeeds. This organization of humans were scattered across the desert and in one hundred years made what we know of today as the Orre region. The details of what the Pokémon looked like were vague in Acri's words, but Michael found the concept amusing that a legendary Pokémon could have punished their ancestors by bringing them here to this isolated empty region seceded from the rest of the world. He placed the book back into it's shelf and looked at other titles for other books that included, "How to be a Hero" and "The Story of Orre's Hero", both made by Acri with Michael as her inspiration.

"Good news! The TV is still working!", Jovi announced as she pressed a button on the home appliance.

The television screen displayed its lack of signal with a loud static mesh. Jovi hit the screen's plastic edge thinking it would make a difference. Much to Michael's surprise after coming back to the living room when he heard the thud against the wall, he briefly viewed a small barely visible television program he was unfamiliar with before it returned to static white noise.

"WEeElcome B-Back to BZZZZT! –overage of BZZZZT Uno-BZZZT! S-Spectacular! BZZZZZTT!", the television shouted with its faulty signal.

"Well… sorta works…heh…", Jovi added shrugging her shoulders with a little smirk.

"What was that? Did you see that?", asked the red headed teenager regarding the brief visible visual.

"See what? I didn't see anything.", she answered looking back at the white static of the television to see what her brother was talking about.

"Just wait. Look!"

They both stood staring at the static of the television for thirty seconds with nothing happening. Michael squint his eyes at the static to see if he could make out anything again but nothing seemed to be appearing. Jovi turned to her older brother and suggested…

"Maybe if I hit it again?", Jovi suggested.

"Go ahead. I guess."

The blue haired girl slammed the television two more times before another brief screen displayed on the television before returning to static. Michael quickly tried to recognize what was on the screen but he couldn't as it was no show that ever appeared on the ONBS network. Despite the visual quality being horrible, the audio quality was still decent enough to recognize a few words.

"BZZZT! The clouds over S-BZZZT! Have cleared-BZZZT!", uttered the television before returning to white static noise.

"Wow! Did you hear that big brother? Maybe if you could fix this TV we could have this house as a little club house or something. You know some place comfortable where we can play with our Pokémon or have friends over for parties! … Well the friends that are still here anyway. I'm sure Emili and Acri won't mind!"

Michael thought about that proposition as he walked up to the television to turn it off. The house is empty but still very much useful. There is definitely potential to make use of this empty useless house unless a visiting foreign family comes to Gateon Port however, the odds of any family outside of the region visiting Orre to stay, or even visiting at all, is very unlikely to happen within the next decade.

"I'll think about it. Maybe after I fix the lab we'll look into fixing up this place for ourselves."

"Alright! …. So what now? Want to go to the lighthouse? I bet the sun's just about to set.", Jovi suggested with anticipation to see the sunset over the ocean again.

Leaving the heavy bag behind to be picked up later, the two left the empty home and proceeded to walk past the machine shop to gaze their eyes on the sun slowly ascending down into the horizon. Exuding a pink sky around it and the ocean with its reflection, the scene was so beautiful to their eyes. They walked to the edge of the pier where the rotating extended bridge had planted the edge of its walkway into the concrete where they stood.

"Isn't this good view?", Michael asked his sister.

"It's beautiful! …. But it could be better on top of the lighthouse! C'mon!", she exclaimed with her usual enthusiasm.

Jovi stepped onto the bridge first but momentarily lost her balance on the relatively thin walkway without any rails to hang on to. Waving her arms about trying to regain her balance, she would have fallen ten feet into the water below if her brother didn't come to her rescue. Grabbing her hand, he helped her gain her balance back as he stood behind her.

"Are you alright?", her big brother asked with concern.

"I-I'm fine! Thanks!", she replied with a half-smile as she was still shaken from nearly experiencing free falling into the cold salt water of the ocean.

"Be careful! You seem to have a habit of rushing into things without paying attention you know that?", Michael added as he began leading Jovi across with bridge with her hand held tightly.

"Heh yeah… I'll try to be more careful.", she replied.

"It's funny. It's that exact behavior that had you bump into that thug back then and now that magician too! It's like some things never change.", Michael observed as they stepped into the central platform with two step-on panel buttons to control the rotating bridges.

"I promise I'll be more careful. I couldn't help myself!"

"Hah yeah I know. It's not a problem. Just be more aware from now on if you can.", Michael advised his younger sister with the sincerity of a caring older brother.

Michael stepped on the panel switch that controlled the rotation of bridges and activated it. At the current moment before the activation the walkways are arranged in a right angle for travelling between two concrete piers. The walkways contracted themselves off of the concrete they were anchored in before being repositioned into extending into a single square shaped island of concrete with a house on it and the other bridge that is always set in a straight ninety degree angle.

The two siblings proceeded to the other rotating bridge before Michael stepped on its panel switch as well to give them access to the concrete island that holds Gateon Port's lighthouse that continuously shines for the safe passage of any ship that may sail nearby. No foreign ships from any other region have arrived since the S.S. Libra was abducted and dropped in the middle of the desert however. The usefulness for the lighthouse has dropped significantly over time but it is still kept standing as a beacon of hope for the future of the Orre region.

Michael walked forward with Jovi following close behind him being careful not to look down at the rushing water for fear of losing her balance again. Standing beside the entrance to the tower was a stout short man with gray mustache and balding hair wearing a brown suit and red bow tie with a content expression on his face as he appeared to be standing beside some sort of prize machine. The machine appeared to look like a slot machine with a variety of different prizes stored in the big glass bubbled built on top of it. It seemed to work much like the slot machines in the former gambling place in the Realgam Tower's lobby area.

"Ah! Aren't you Michael? The hero of the Orre region a few years ago? It is an honor to be at the presence of such a legendary trainer! My name is Agnes Cade. My profession is providing trainers the chance of winning marvelous prizes through my lottery machine as you can see here."

"I've never seen you around here. Are you new to the Orre region?", Michael asked with great curiosity of the stranger.

Jovi walked up to the machine and tried to look into what the prizes where in the glass bubble above as Agnes further explained himself to Michael.

"I was born in Orre but raised in the Johto region by my family of slot machine manufacturers. I came here to further expand our influence …but it seems there is too little here to have influence over if you know what I mean."

"Of course…", Michael understood with a slight frown.

"But I have been doing well today! A sailor came by and won one of our grand prizes! He is a lucky guy I tell you. Always puts a smile on my face to see a happy contestant… and more money in my bank.", Agnes said patting the money in the pockets of his suit.

"What kind of prizes do you have?", Jovi asked trying to see through the glass bubble to spot anything familiar.

"Well why don't you find out? … Later! Both of you can try your luck later for the mere price of five thousand Poke Dollars!", the man said with a tone of an enthusiastic salesman.

"Five thousand?! Outrageous!", Michael exclaimed in shock and sudden distrust of the stranger.

"Not when you've seen the fabulous prizes inside! The sailor didn't seem to complain when he got his marvelous gift!", Agnes defended his reasoning with a still joyous expression on his face.

When Michael tried to peer into the glass bubble to see what could possibly be worth five thousand Pokémon Dollars when he could suddenly see there appeared to be an assortment of Poke Balls suspended in glass tubes inside the glass bubble. From a distance it looked like the sort of old fashioned machine that people would stuff coins in for gum balls or jawbreakers. The prize is not as random as it seems but the prize itself seems very controversial to the yellow vested teenage boy.

"… You're giving away Pokémon as prizes? Are those Pokémon in those Poke Balls I see there?", Michael asked with an aggressive tone.

"Only the winners will know for sure! And besides, giving away Pokémon as prizes is already legal in Kanto."

"But is it legal here? Do you even have a license?", Michael interrogated him.

The stout man flashed an identification card showing a profile of himself and his profession with the bolded words, "Licensed Pokémon Provider". His pointer finger covered a portion of the card's text that would have been assumed to have been information as to where he obtained this license. Agnes quickly slid it back into his suit pocket and said with again with an undying smile, "Come back when we're ready for business!"

Michael was still frowning at him with his untrusting eyes. Anyone who distributes Pokémon freely as goods in exchange for money are no better than the evil Cipher syndicate in Michael's eyes. Captive Pokémon given out to unsuspecting trainers who would never have guessed their new Pokémon was the result of Cipher's inhumane engineering. This is exactly how Shadow Pokémon began to spread under the aid of the Orre region's trainers so long ago.

"I'm not sure how much I like this… or how much I like seeing you sell Pokémon on the street like this…..", the boy said slowly becoming less passive aggressive and more offensive towards the raffle man.

"Awh Michael don't be like that! C'mon let's come back later after we go up to the top shall we?", Jovi said trying to ease the tension by reminding her older brother where they were going to see the sunset.

"Oh! Right Jovi. Let's go.", the yellow vested teen said following his younger sister into the tower.

Before stepping through the door however, Michael turned to the stout man and shot one more distrusting glare with his green eyes before he disappeared from his sight from inside the building. Jovi stood looking at her older brother with her arms crossed with a displeased look in her blue eyes. Michael looked back at her with his eyebrows raised as in curious as to what is the matter.

"What?", he said.

"Why do you have to be like that? You don't need to be so mean to the man.", the blue haired sister said to her older brother while looking at him with judgement while her head tilted to the side.

"Anyone who keeps Pokémon captive just to sell them for money is not a friend of mine. How do you think Shadow Pokémon became such a problem back then in the first place?", The red headed teen explained to his younger sister in a slightly impatient manner.

"Well if selling Pokémon is legal in Kanto….", Jovi tried to rationally defend the stranger when her brother interrupted her.

"This isn't Kanto! We are in the Orre region! If selling capturing and selling Pokémon on markets are a custom in Kanto then keep it there! It's bad enough this region is decaying as it is. We don't need foreign outcasts or parasites coming here to do even more harm to our home.", he said with his eyebrows drawn together as the silent hatred and distrust foreigners he had kept with him since the end of his collaboration with his mutual friend from Kalos began to build.

"Alright I get it but imagine this! Imagine if someone wanted a Pokémon but couldn't catch one himself or herself for some reason or wanted a certain Pokémon to give a friend or child who can't catch a Pokémon themselves. In some cases I'd think it would be okay as long as the Pokémon themselves are taken care of by the provider right?", the blue haired younger sister said while shrugging with an empathetic expression .

Michael suddenly had his eyes widened and his anger quickly subsided when he realized the potential goodness his younger sister suggested could happen. If such a thing were the case in Kanto he guesses he shouldn't be so quick to judge any suspicious new person so quickly based on personal experience. He looked at the old faded tiled floor with his right hand on his chin as he thought over the concept. He tilted his head a little and gave a small smirk of admittance that Jovi's brighter side of thinking seemed to have won over Michael's quick aggressive assumption.

"Well… best case scenario you would be right…. I'll try to ignore it now but I hope that guy honestly takes care of those Pokémon…. You really have grown over the years haven't you? You're pretty rational and much smarter now than you were four years ago huh? No longer that annoying little sister heh.", the older brother complimented to his younger sister.

"Hee! Thanks! …. I think….", Jovi replied scratching the back of her head in her confusion of whether or not she should take offense or feel complimented.

"C'mon. Let's take the elevator up.", she said as she approached the metal automatic sliding doors of the cylindrical elevator shaft that served as the lighthouse's central support for the entire building.

Jovi lead Michael into the elevator and rode the rising platform all the way to the roof of the tower where the light house's light kept itself shining towards the ocean with its source over on top of the elevator shaft. They stepped through the sliding metal doors onto the roof to be immediately met with a refreshing breeze on to their faces. The high altitude gave them a fresh breeze of the ocean air unlike anything they would experience in any other place in the Orre region.

They immediately set their gaze on the orange sky under the slowly clearing clouds. The sun was halfway visible in the horizon of the huge vast ocean with its reflection glistening on the water's surface. The two walked to the edge of the large circular railing fence that enclosed the flat roof top of the lighthouse and basked in the view of the ocean and the land as far as they could see. The clouds that once obscured Citadark Isle in the far distance were gone thanks to Michael's effort that destroyed Cipher's final base of operations there on that island. The gorgeous sunset was allowed to be seen from the streets of Gateon Port again with the shutdown of their atmosphere altering machines that Cipher had on their island headquarters long ago.

"It's so beautiful…. They should have sent a poet…"

"Instead of suspicious salesmen?", Michael suggested with a smile.

"Pfff! Of course! Heh… but you know big brother…", Jovi addressed him as she leaned forward onto the metal railing with the ocean wind blowing through her blue hair let down to her neck.

Michael stood beside her and looked at the far scenic nothingness of the ocean while she spoke. As she spoke to him however, some caught his eyes in between the clusters of clouds far in the distance. Two unidentifiable flying objects could be seen flying through the clouds. They were too far away to tell what they were for sure. When he squint his eyes to focus on the objects he could only tell they looked spherical in shape.

"I'm sure someday things will be better here. We'll get visitors from all the different regions and we'll all have the best time discovering these new strange Pokémon by battling with them or seeing them settle here. I mean sure things don't look well now…. But we're still here tidying up the place. Chobin says that with this last invention Dr. Kaminko has in the making maybe we'll finally get some attention from one of those companies you hear about in other regions."

"Is…. That so?", the red headed boy said still entranced by the flying anomalies he suspects might actually be related to what crashed through the lab.

"Yep! …. It's a surprise! I think you'll like it.", she said cheerfully as she looked back at him to suddenly notice him with his attention on something in the far distance.

"Uhm… what are you looking at?"

"Do you see those things over there?", Michael asked pointing his right hand towards the anomalies as best as he could.

The blue dressed girl looked forward and stood up straight and focused her eyes trying to see where her brother was pointing. She couldn't see them at first but when Michael explained to her what they looked like from there she could see the two strange objects in the sky.

"A UFO? Woahhh…..", Jovi exclaimed in awe from the distant flying objects.

"I can't tell… but it sort of reminds me of that thing I found in the desert…. It might even be the thing that crashed through the lab…", Michael added.

"What? What did you find?", she asked with great curiosity.

Just as Michael was about to explain what he found in the middle of the desert, he was interrupted by the sudden presence of someone walking up behind them. They both turned around to immediately be met with the dark caped top hat wearing magician again to their surprise. Jovi smiled in delight of seeing him but Michael still didn't know what to think of him.

"Uh Seth is it? Are you following us?", the red headed teen asked trying not to raise his own suspicions again.

"I was already here. The more proper question would be to ask why you two following me.", the handsome mysterious caped magician replied.

Michael immediately thought back and realized that they have been following him on accident almost the entire time they've been in Gateon Port ever since Jovi had collided with him near the gate. Into the machine shop where they had to visit anyway for repairing materials and onto the lighthouse where they are now, they can't seem to stop running into him.

"You were here? Oh uh s-sorry about that. We didn't know you were here.", Michael apologized scratching his scalp in embarrassment.

"But since you are here can you do another magic trick again?", Jovi asked with anticipation for another illusion from the magician.

Michael was about to tell Jovi not to take advantage of the generosity of this stranger but was interrupted when Seth drew a Great ball in his right hand from under his cloak. The two looked at the magician's Pokémon capsule in a brief moment of wonder before they were both shocked to see it levitate in the air with a small blue halo surrounding it as if the magician knew how to use telekinesis. The Great Ball levitated in the air in front of the top hatted man's face as he spoke.

"Before I perform at the Krabby Club, I want to test Orre's hero with a Pokémon battle."

Something bulged out of the cloak that covered his left arm slipped out revealing itself to be another levitating Great Ball. He seemed to be levitating them with his mind by how he doesn't seem to move his arms or hands at all to interact with the medium grade Pokémon capsules. Michael was wide eyed in astonishment as Jovi's eyes glistened with excitement at the little miracle held before her eyes.

"A quick Double Battle but only with two selected Pokémon. Don't hold back. I really want to see what you can do with your best Pokémon!"

"Alright then… let's roll!", Michael said immediately picking two Pokémon in his party he had closest for his convenience.

Michael didn't hesitate as this was the most interesting challenge he has been issued since the time he conquered the Orre Colosseum challenges so many years ago. Jovi stood aside to spectate the quick match that was about to unfold. Holding a Poke Ball and an Ultra Ball in his hands he sent them both out calling the names of his two trusted Pokémon.

"Go Umbreon and Salamence!"

Light from the capsules materialized to form Michael's childhood Pokémon given by his father and a recovered former Shadow Pokémon snagged from one of the most elite Cipher admins respectively. Umbreon stood ready with Salamence awaiting for the opposing trainer to call out his Pokémon. The magician looked at the Umbreon and raised his gray eyebrows with interest before he smirked with the calling out of his own Pokémon.

"Medicham! Ursuring! To my side!", Seth shouted.

Summoned from their capsules, a Fighting and Psychic Type Pokémon Medicham stood in an aggressive stance while Ursuring stood swinging it's arms ready to thrash anything she is told to by her trainer.

"That Fighting Type will hurt Umbreon if we let it. Umbreon! Confuse Ray on Medicham! Salamence use Dragon Claw on Ursuring!", Michael commanded.

Umbreon charged and flashed its rings as he inflicted the Medicham confusion. Seth's Medicham . The Medicham started jerking its head in different directions trying to keep itself together in response.

"Ursuring, Protect! Medicham use Ice Punch on Salamence!", Seth ordered his Pokemon.

Michael smile turned upside down really quickly when he saw Salamence fruitlessly try to attack Ursuring's quick Protect wall that blocked his Dragon Claw to immediately take a super effective hit that was twice as destructive because of his unfortunate type match up. Adding insult to injury, his Salamence froze upon impact of Medicham's icy strike. The confusion didn't stop Medicham from dealing heavy damage not to Umbreon but to his Salamence. His once heavy hitting Flying and Dragon type has nearly fainted and is frozen in place. Umbreon looked back at his trainer waiting to hear what to do next.

Before he could react, something burst from Ursuring's paws and infused her with a toxin. The magician smiled as he knew his strategy involving synergy between the item Ursuring had and its ability to maximize its destructive potential.

"Ursuring! Façade on Umbreon! Medicham use High Jump Kick on Umbreon too.", Seth commanded anticipating two devastating attacks.

Michael's old Moonlight Pokémon immediately cringed as the enhanced and enraged Ursuring charged with great force while the Medicham jumped and flew towards his Pokemon with its foot stretched for impact after having snapped out of confusion. Despite Umbreon's great amount of stamina and defensive bulk, it was proved no match for the brutal combo dealt to him. It whimpered before falling flat on the ground with its eyes closed. His trainer returned him to his ball.

"Ohh….", Jovi exclaimed after seeing the forceful attacks on what was once her father's Pokémon.

Before Seth could order his Pokémon to finish off the frozen Salamence, Michael returned it to its ball and waved his right hand with his head tilted forward implying he has forfeited. Seth's expression turned into one of slight disappointment.

"You win. Thanks for the match.", Michael said admitting defeat.

Seth returned his Pokémon to their balls and slipped them back under his cloak. The top hatted man did not seem satisfied with the results of the battle. He approached Michael again and began to ask him while sporting a tone of severe disappointment.

"Was that really your best? Were those two Pokémon really the best that you had to offer?"

"…..Uuh… well I didn't…."

"You didn't think I would be a challenge did you? As Orre's once powerful savior I would have expected you to have used far more powerful Pokémon in this match! To think it was you who eliminated Cipher… Next time we battle, hope to see you prove yourself a true hero.", Seth scolded before he began walking back to the elevator doors.

Michael was speechless at the young man's ridicule towards him out of great disappointment. He watched him disappear into the closing elevator doors in silence while Jovi ran up to her brother's side with concern for him.

"Michael! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…. But now I think I'll have to look into rebuilding my team again just in case that guy really wants to challenge me again.", he said lamenting for his unnecessary defeat.

"Wow what a jerk! You're more of a hero than anybody in this region! What is he talking about?!", Jovi pouted in defense of her older brother.

"Why if it weren't for you, he'd probably wouldn't be around here parading around with his stupid hat and hypnotic eyes.", she continued before she caught herself saying something unusual.

"Uhhh… huh? Hypnotic?", Michael asked his younger blue haired sister now blushing.

"Well they are! I mean uh… neh…. I don't care. Wanna go home?", she said quickly changing the subject while sheepishly trying to hide the red on her cheeks.

"Peh! I didn't think you've reached that age already! Hahaha!", the red headed teenage boy stated before bursting into laughter.

"Wh-What are you talking about?! Knock it off!', Jovi demanded with her cheeks puffed red as she gave a light punch her brother's shoulder.

They had a moment of laughter before Michael brought up the notion of making their way to the Pokémon Center to treat his badly beaten Pokémon. Jovi agreed without hesitation out of her previous sympathy for the two. As the sky grew dark, they descended down the elevator and walked out of the front door of the lighthouse. Oddly enough when they investigated for the salesman from Kanto, he had disappeared with his lottery machine. Not that Michael would care to see him again any time soon. Jovi was disappointed to see the salesman disappear however Michael promised then that next time he'd lend her the money to try her luck at the Pokémon distribution game.

After traversing through the rotating bridges again and walking towards the Eastern part of Gateon Port far across from the parts shop from the West side of town, the siblings made it into through the automatic sliding doors of Gateon Port's Pokémon center just as the sky darkened into the dusk of night.

The nurse behind her counter within the lobby of the building appeared to have been reading a book as she waited at her station for trainers and sailors who have not been so frequent to visit her for healing their Pokémon in the longest time.

The nurse took her eyes off the pages of her book and noticed Michael and Jovi walking towards her counter. She closed the book and faced forward putting on her usual universal friendly smile all Pokémon nurses would put on no matter what region or what condition they are in. They will always do their jobs so long as they stay behind the counter even in an empty Pokémon Center in a nearly deserted town that is on its way to disappearing from the world.

"Oh! Hello Michael! Nice to see you again! The usual?", she asked him upon recognizing him.

"Yes please.", he replied before placing all of his Poke Balls onto the counter from the pockets of his black fanny pack.

"One moment please."

As the nurse placed the capsules into the sockets of the healing machine beside her, the siblings looked about the small lobby. Almost like any other common Pokémon center there would be book shelves and small lounges for travelers to sit around and idle with their Pokémon. Up stairs on the second floor there used to be a lady who sold medicine herbs for Pokémon with her Munchlax that used to walk about and snack on Poke Snacks. Now it seems this nurse is all alone at her post in the isolated Pokémon Center.

"Here you go Michael. Say have you heard of that there's a magician in town today? It's amazing that anyone with talent would come here again after so long. Especially since there really isn't anybody here anymore.", she said trying to strike up a conversation to break her streak of silence.

"Well… we definitely know he's here.", Michael proclaimed subtly suggesting the obvious reason why he's here to heal his Pokémon in the first place.

"Are you going to see the show?", Jovi asked her as she stood beside her brother retrieving his Poke Balls at the counter.

The woman in her pink Pokémon nurse uniform seemed to have been surprised by the choice presented to her.

"I would… I guess I could…. Not like anyone's going to need me here anytime soon anyway…. Are you going to the show?", she asked the two after quickly reviewing her options on what to do for the rest of the day.

"Are we? I don't know how much I like that man after how that guy treated you.", the blue haired girl admitted to her brother.

Michael shrugged on the notion. It's likely that Lily and Krane won't be too impatient to see him return with the materials to repair the lab. It probably wouldn't hurt them to stay around for a little while longer. It might even be worth it considering literally nothing happens in the Orre region anymore. This chance to break the cycle of stale life in Orre shouldn't be passed.

"Why not? I couldn't care less what he said before. In fact it's probably beneficial to have him remind me that I need to keep myself ready for anything. I need to strategize before I act on things you know?", he said to his sister.

She shrugged with her eyebrows raised with a small smirk on her face before her brother continued.

"Well anyway. Let's go to the Krabby Club and have a good time before we leave. What say you?", Michael asked Jovi for her opinion.

"If you're okay with it I'm all for it! Let's go!", she exclaimed with a cheery tone.

"Let's roll!"

The two turned away from the counter and started walking to the door before the a loud thud was suddenly shocked their ear drums from the sound that bounced off of the relatively small lobby. They turned to see the nurse had jumped over the counter with her book in her hands. Apparently her heeled shoes made the clap that beat their ear drums in that moment.

"Don't mind me! I'm taking the rest of the day off."

They emerged from the Pokémon center and walked out onto the checkered weathered marble pavement that made up of the Eastern part of the town's street high above the water. Looking forward they can see near the Poke Mart beside the Pokémon Center was the Krabby shaped brick building. It was not a far walk, but along the way while they stepped on the marble street, the sky had turned completely dark with the sinking of the sun over the horizon. The streets of the town were illuminated by the lights of the few lamp posts scattered on the concrete edges between the ocean and land. A bigger light source came from the Krabby Club's patio lights that shined on a young sailor and his big Pokémon sitting in front of him that appeared to be a Slaking.

The Slaking didn't appear to be very fond of its new trainer judging by how it seemed to angrily stare at him as he sat. For whatever reason, it would only respond to its new trainer by angrily grunting with every attempt to connect to it. The siblings approached the seafaring trainer after they stepped up on to the patio entrance of the Krabby Club.

"What's the matter Slaking? Is something bugging you?", the sailor asked his Pokémon.

"Where did you find that Slaking?", Michael asked the sailor out of curiosity as he remembered what the suspicious salesman told him.

The sailor man was startled before he turned about to see Michael and Jovi awaiting an answer from him. He answered without hesitation to share the highlight of his day.

"This guy had a lottery machine. I got lucky and won myself this Slaking! Look at how awesome he is! He must be a real heavy hitter don't you think? I just wish he would listen to me though."

They all turned to glimpse at the Slaking briefly before Michael started contemplating why it would have trouble obeying its trainer. The nurse that followed the siblings intervened with a possible diagnosis.

"This might be a little off, but I think it won't obey you because you aren't strong enough. That is to say, not worthy enough. You know what I mean?"

Michael, Jovi, and the sailor looked at the pink dressed nurse with confused expressions on their faces. She blushed in embarrassment for her small vague explanation for those that didn't know what she meant.

"You see… In regions that have Pokémon Leagues. Pokémon that don't originally belong to you won't obey unless you prove you're strong enough with badges or something. I don't know, it's weird how captive wild Pokémon behave in those regions."

"I'll say… the Pokémon I snagged their trainers sure didn't have a problem obeying me even when they were Shadow Pokémon…. How would a small bit of metal pinned to your shirt make any difference to a Pokémon? Let alone a captive one at that. Why should they care?", the red headed boy asked shaking his head trying to understand the concept.

The three were at it in conversation over how Pokémon League badges could make a difference in how a Pokémon feels towards you. How a Pokemon could understand the human concept of a League badges and respond to it as such. Then Jovi broke the conversation by stating her theory out loud.

"Maybe…. They like recognize it as a symbol of power?"

Everyone turned and looked at her. Michael had his eyebrows raised with curiosity over this new concept seen only in regions with Pokémon Leagues. Jovi blushed timidly for being the center of attention at that moment.

"I mean…. Or…Or they just like how shiny they are? Bleh I don't know….heh…."

Everyone shrugged at the matter. The Slaking didn't seem to be responsive to anything during the entire conversation. It just kept staring at Michael and his sister with its unblinking eyes. Michael noticed the Pokémon's blank expression towards them. He didn't think much of it other than it must be "loafing around" as it is in a Slaking's nature to idle lazily.

"Well I can take a look at it later. I'm going inside.", the nurse stated before walking through the automatic double doors of the building resembling a Krabby.

"I'm sure it will turn itself around soon. Give it time.", Michael said to the sailor with a positive attitude.

As the siblings walked towards the automatic double doors, Michael turned to see the Slaking one last time to see if it's still staring at him. As expected it had its eyes glued on him for some reason. The eye contact ceased when Michael and the Slaking were no longer within each other's line of sight upon entering the rather decent but empty seaside bar.

Inside the Krabby Club there five tables spread out within the dining area; two of them near the bar and three surrounding the stage where entertainers would entertain the diners. Upon entering, one could see that the bar was located to their far left and the stage was located to their right. The decorative décor of the stage featured a pink and white checkered floor with the back stage gate being wired with once pulsating glowing yellow neon lights. The two levitating jewels that were suspended over the two pillars on the opposite sides of the stage with strings did not glow their colors anymore and the stage lights that divided the diners from the entertainers flickered once or twice every three minutes. An old huge television set was placed beside a set of stairs leading up to the private bar for rich people. By the looks of its layers of fine white dust, it hasn't been used or tended to in a long time.

A single bar tender behind his bar and a man playing a melancholy tune on his guitar sitting on the stage were the only signs of life in the building besides Michael, Jovi, and the nurse. The brother and sister listened to the guitar playing man wearing a ten gallon hat and overalls as he sung a small verse.

"So If I broke…. You're heart last night…. It's because... I love you most of all… "

Jovi was a little entranced by the lyrics, but Michael didn't pay much attention to it as he was anxious to see the magician's show. The red haired boy led his younger blue haired sister to the bar where the bartender was busy serving the nurse a small burger with a glass of pink Nomelade. The two sat on their own bar stools and waited for the bartender to come around for their order.

"Welcome to the Krabby Club. How can I help you?... oh hey aren't you that kid? Michael right?", the bartender asked of the yellow vested teen.

"Uh yeah?", he answered.

"Oh…. Well I would give you a discount but we're actually on the verge of having our business here expire because of the lack of ships coming in over the years. It's a surprise we're still alive today to be honest. There are never more than five people in this place."

"I'm sorry to hear that…", Michael expressed his condolences for the man's business.

"Don't be. Even if it we were better off when Mr. Verich was still around…"

Michael couldn't tell if he was being sincere or passive aggressive with that observation. Mr. Verich was an incredibly rich old man who visited the Krabby Club when he made port. The old man who later turned out to be Master Greevil, the very face of Cipher, who was ultimately stopped by Michael's efforts to purify the region's Shadow Pokémon and purge it of Cipher's presence. Although the entire region celebrated Michael's victory and vanquish of Cipher, time had passed and due to the incident with the S.S. Libra, ships from other regions became less likely to go anywhere near the oceans of the Orre region before the thought of traveling to the region via ocean was dismissed all together. In the long run, everything stopped progressing when Cipher was stopped. The only connections to the outside world is through the GTS simulator and the slim network of connection that Michael discovered on accident one day during a test run with one of his inventions.

"So what will it be for you? And you there in blue?", the bartender asked the siblings as he wiped a glass.

"A fruit smoothie? You got any?", Jovi requested first with a smile.

"What flavor? We have Cheri, Rawst, Pecha…."

"Pecha Berry please!"

"And you sir?"

"Same.", the red headed boy answered as he continued listening to the music of the guitarist.

Less work for the bartender as he figured. He pulled out a blender from the shelves below the counter top and threw a scoop of plain ice cream, drowned it in Moo Moo Milk, threw three stem cut Pecha Berries into the refreshment before dumping a quarter cup of sugar into the mix. As the blender liquefied the Pecha Berries and mixed the flavors, Jovi asked the bartender a question.

"When will the magician take the stage?", the younger sister asked.

"Shortly. The guitar guy over isn't really an entertainer here. He's just a friend of mine trying to keep this place as alive as possible…. We even had to sell those life preservers we used to have to keep this place out of the danger zone. We try our best but we don't think this tavern will survive into next week now. We've already got boxes full and ready to move out in the basement."

"Awwh…. Wish there would be some way for us to help…."

"It's alright. Not everything lasts forever, but now we're going to have move on… here you go."

The bartender pulled out two tall glass cups and began the Pecha Berry smoothie into each cup; perfectly filling them both by two halves what the total amount of smoothie. Michael swiped his transaction card on the card slot the bartender provided paying up to eight hundred Poke Dollars in total for the drinks. The bartender then left the siblings alone to tend to his other duties of cleaning dishes and dusting the always present dust off of his work place.

Jovi happily sucked on her straw and faced Michael as she listened to the musician's music. Michael heard footsteps coming from the automatic front doors but he neglected to see who it would possibly be as he couldn't care less if it were the salesman or Perr dropping in to pass his time away even further. He could see Jovi's eyes turning towards the person of interest to her before she turned her attention away from it and began to speak with the straw still in her mouth.

"So big brother. You never told me…"

"Told you what?", he asked before he sipped some of his smoothie.

"You never told me if you met any cute girls in your adventure. Don't you think you should find a girlfriend or something? Heehee!", Jovi asked with a little enthusiasm to hear his response.

The green eyed boy shook his head at the thought of ever being paired with someone.

"Naahh….. even if I tried now it would probably be too late. Everyone being gone and all…."

"Mmm? Well have you met cute girls in your adventure back then?"

"Well I can't say for sure… I didn't really think of a girl any different from… just another person you know? Just another character."

"So you're saying throughout your entire time running around place to place, you've never met ANY cute girls at all? Not even a little cute?"

"Uhmmm why are you asking this now?"

"No reason… just very curious….giggle", said Jovi trying not to laugh for some reason.

Michael smirked a little to pretend he was amused by his sister's behavior. He continued speaking for himself on the matter.

"Well… when you put it that way…. I think…. Well don't tell anyone about this…. But I did think of this one girl I met during that time who did give me trouble was a little cute…. But she had the temper of a Primeape. I should know, I snagged a Shadow Primape from a Cipher Admin once."

Michael suddenly felt shivers down his spine for some reason.

"Mmmm…. Was it the pink haired lady you told me about once? Lovrina was it? Was she cute to you?"

"….Uh…. yeeaah? Kind of…. She was cute. But her behavior was atrocious. I'd go so far as to say it was her bratty behavior that eclipsed how cute she looked. Not that it matters though… if were a bit older back then maybe I'd be more forgiving…."

"Oh really little boy?", a nearly familiar female voice sounded behind him on the stool beside him.

Jovi's cheeks grew red as she was laughing so hard in her mouth; blowing a few bubbles in her smoothie. Michael was silenced and wide eyed in a stare at the wall far behind his mischievous sister. He placed his right hand on his face and reviewed the possibilities and statistics based on how many people are left in the Orre region and the odds of ever seeing a certain specific individual again. He thought to himself.

"…No it's not….the odds are like…. One in five hundred? No … two hundred?... it can't be..."

He slowly turned the rotating cushion of his stool. In the corner of his eyes, a single giant twin tail of pink hair that slowly grew into the head and hair of a familiar face he would not have expected to see again in a long time. No longer slowly turning himself, he sat facing the former administrator of Cipher's scientific branch dressed in a red glittering dress. When he locked eyes with her green eyes with her frown coupled with her smug smile, he slipped off of his seat and fell backwards as he flailed his arms in panic. The awkward teen landed with a thud. Jovi briefly let out a small burst of uncontrollable laughter before she shut her mouth and withheld her giggles with a smile.

"Well nice to see you too…", Lovrina said to him before turning towards the bartender to order something to drink

"I'm here too!", Lovrina's slightly younger brother and former Cipher agent Naps introduced himself waving at the red headed boy on the floor.

Naps was wearing a set of black sunglasses over his eyes and a yellow knit cap on his head. He wore a white shirt and blue casual jeans. He had a much friendlier appearance than he did in his more recognized higher ranked Cipher Peon armor.

Michael picked himself up off the floor and stood up dusting himself off. Before wanting to scold his younger sister for accidentally admitting to a former rival how he thought of her, the spiky red haired boy put on a friendly expression and greeted.

"Oh hai! Uh… long time no see huh?", Michael said with an nervous smile and small blush on his cheeks towards Lovrina.

"We were just fine back in Poketopia. Naps and I would dominate so many people with our awesome Pokémon we raised back in the labs. Not the kind of lab raised Pokémon you'd think of though if you know what I mean. We played things smart.", the pink haired young woman said after ordering a Cheri Berry Martini.

"Ah of course.", Michael understood, sitting back on his stool.

"Yep. We were so dominating every challenge with strategic planning and counter constructed with my ingenuity…. And Naps."

"I already miss that place. It was so beautiful and huge. Action packed too.", Naps added before sitting on his stool between the nurse and his sister.

"Poketopia? Can't say I've heard of that place. Is it anywhere near Orre?", Michael asked with curiosity of the strange new place.

"Nope. It's far. Close to the Sinnoh Region but still so far really. The funny thing is after the four years we've been there it's been dying slowly. People are leaving and nothing is really happening anymore there…. From the looks of things, things aren't really happening here either."

"Really? What do you think happened?"

"How should I know?! I'm not a social scientist nor would I care.", Lovrina responded with sass before sipping on her martini.

"…. So why would you come here of all places? You could have gone to Sinnoh or someplace more populated and popular than this region.", the red headed teen questioned with great curiosity.

Lovrina turned to her brother and asked him the same question before interrupting his answer saying it was a sarcastic rhetorical question addressed to him. She turned back to Michael and answered.

"We were called here by somebody for a job interview. He said that it would be a high paying job for us if we were hired but I don't know what it is or who wanted us. It so better be worth coming back to this place again. I hate seeing sand everywhere."

"Oh… interesting… why you though? You who actually made Shadow Lugia among more than eighty other Shadow Pokémon?", he asked her referencing to all the Shadow Pokémon he had to save.

"I don't know can't a smart girl get a high paying job? Especially one from here. Nobody outside Orre even knows this region exists. It's so insane how obscure we are even though we were so close to enslaving everyone in the world if you hadn't shown up to ruin everything.", she said thinking back to how close history would have been made in the world.

"Eh well…. Enslaving innocent Pokémon and turning them into violent fighting machines for world domination is sort of a no-no in my book/ You understand that right?", Michael said to the pink haired young lady with a smirk on his face.

"…. Sure. Well hope you're happy with that now that the rest of Cipher and its members were either jailed or out of a job and likely homeless in this Orre-excluding world we live in. You wouldn't believe the shanty towns we've seen full of homeless Orre immigrants trying to make it in other regions. But nobody would hire them because they don't believe such a place exists… families sleeping in cardboard boxes and rugs in the streets..", she continued sipping more of her martini.

Michael was shocked to hear that he could have caused such widespread distress by doing something he judged to be right. He thought twice on the matter however after realizing she just might be guilt tripping him with stories that are a little less than real.

"That's not true! Don't lie to me. People know that we exist here. None of the ex-Cipher grunts are suffering as much as you say they are. I don't believe it."

"Believe what you want to believe…. But off that subject I think we're missing one of the key subjects of this conversation…. You thought I was cute back then?", Lovrina asked with a straight face with her martini glass empty.

Jovi turned to smile and giggle at her brother upon hearing her. Michael covered his face with his right hand in embarrassment. He tried to think of what to say until the pink haired young woman spoke first.

"So what do you think of me now?"

Michael was wide eyed at the question before he quickly thought deeply for his answer. Jovi listened and Naps paid attention from their seats with their respective siblings locked in a conversation. The red headed boy shook his head and answered timidly.

"Well…. As a veteran member of your fan club…. I'd say you look….. honestly you look beautiful. There I said it. Happy everyone?", Michael asked as he turned to look at his sister, Naps, and the bartender who was not at all paying attention.

Jovi giggled, Naps didn't know how to respond to anyone even remotely complimenting his older sister, and the bartender rolled his eyes as he kept wiping his glasses with his white dish towel. Lovrina had her right eyebrow raised and grew a small smirk on her face.

"That's cute of you to say… sorry but not sorry to say though, it would never have worked out between us anyway. Haha!", she said with a laugh.

Jovi immediately grunted in slight disappointment while Michael chuckled a little at the whole ordeal he went through of trying to tell a girl she was beautiful. He had never given a compliment to anyone like that in all his life, especially to a girl.

"That's a relief…", Michael expressed his gratitude for their differences as he faced forward and drunk more of his Pecha Berry smoothie.

After five minutes of idling at the bar, the musician had left and the lights were starting to dim for a spotlight on the stage. Jovi ran to a chair at a table set directly in front of the stage before Michael followed her to the table to join her in watching the show. Lovrina and her brother took a seat at another different table beside the stage to observe the show as they wait for their new possible employer. The bartender watched from behind the bar and the nurse watched from her seat on her stool. The mood didn't seem particularly thrilling at first with nobody being on stage for a short while.

"…. Well…. Can't say I'm impressed so far…", Michael stated in a quiet tone.

"Just wait a moment will you? I'm sure he'll come.", Jovi said keeping positive.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard from backstage coming onto the pink and white checkered floor of the stage. Although it sounded like someone stepped on to the stage nothing was apparent until the faint outline of an invisible figure was reflected in the air the spotlight shined its light on. Everyone watching gasped when they saw the magician reveal itself like a Kecleon coming out of its camouflage. From being completely invisible to visible in the blink of an eye, the magician had already caught the small audience's attention with his first magic act.

"Good evening Krabby Club patrons. It is a shame to see my audience so few in number but I guess in today's dire times it is a blessing to see anyone at all. I thank you all for coming to my show tonight. My name is Seth.", the top hatted gray haired young man introduced himself to the audience.

His cloak still continued to conceal his left arm as he took his hat off and bowed towards the show goers. Michael and Jovi's attention was undivided towards the young man. Naps was looking at Seth trying to remember if he's seen him from somewhere or not but Lovrina was not nearly as interested in the illusions as any of the other spectators.

"Tonight I will show you what I have under my sleeves while revealing the hidden power of what you thought was just another Pokémon. For my first act of magic, I require a volunteer from the audience. Some of my tricks tonight will require cooperation from the audience."

Jovi turned to Michael and enthusiastically shook her head towards the stage implying he should go up and volunteer. He shook his head in disagreement to his sister's proposition. Jovi kept insisting that he should go before the magician suddenly decided.

"This young man! Would you kindly come up here and assist in our first illusion of tonight?", Seth addressed Naps instead of Michael.

The attention and spotlight was on Naps. Lovrina sat back with her arms crossed as she watched her brother awkwardly climb up on stage while looking staring at the magician. Naps stood up on stage and tried to see if he could recognize the character in the top hat.

"Have we met?", Naps asked him as he adjusted his sunglasses.

"I don't recall ever seeing your face before…. Maybe you've been to one of my shows before? No matter. Please co-operate with me for our first trick."

Seth took off his top hat and gave it to Naps. Michael and the others watched him peer inside to have a shocked look in his face before the magician quickly stuck his entire arm into the hat as Naps still held on to it. Defying the laws of physics with how small the hat was compared to his arm, the hat was up to Seth's right shoulder before he started pulling out of it. Just as soon as he recovered his arm, the hat spontaneously combusted into a blue flame and was incinerated into ashes in Naps' hands. Everyone gasped in shock at the sight of the ball of fire but not as much Naps did holding on to the flame that didn't burn him at all. Then everyone turned their attention to Seth to see sitting in his right hand covered in a tight black glove, a strange looking Pokémon that took the shape of a candle with a blue flame lit on its head. The little Pokémon looked about the room in confusion before it calmed down and watched the audience with silence as its flame continued to burn.

"Behold! A Pokémon named Litwick that is native to the Unova Region! Never before has this Pokémon been seen inside the Orre region but thanks to my hat… which just incinerated just now in a ball of flame… I was able to introduce it to all of you."

Jovi took out the device Seth had previously given her and identified it. Michael's Strategy Memo application on his P DA also identified the strange new Pokémon. It was a Ghost and Fire Type Pokémon named Litwick that apparently resembles a haunted candlestick. Michael found it interesting while Jovi found it absolutely adorable with how it looked about and smiled with its little mouth.

"Since this Pokémon does not belong to me and is, in fact, a Wild Pokémon, we require a new volunteer to come up here and demonstrate their wild Pokémon catching skills so that we may continue the show. Kind sir thank you for your assistance but you may return to your seat now." Seth said telling Naps to return to his seat.

His hands were dirtied and dusted black as Naps returned to his seat. Lovrina immediately pointed her brother to the washroom and told him not to come back until his hands have been cleaned. Not wanting to disobey his intimidating sister, he left the table towards the washroom as she continued watching the show.

"How about you go up there? Catch your first wild Pokémon!", Michael suggested to his blue haired sister who was still admiring how cute the Litwick was.

"Me? You mean right now? I could do it?", Jovi said not knowing whether or not she should climb on stage at this very moment.

The magician turned towards the table where Michael and Jovi sat at their table and pointed towards them. He ignored the red headed boy and turned to the blue haired girl looking at him with her eyes wide in awe. Seth slowly slid the Litwick off of his gloved hand onto the stage and pointed to her while offer her his hand to pull her up onto the stage.

"You there, the azure little sister. If you're already a trainer, please step up and demonstrate your skills by catching this Litwick so that the show may go on."

Michael smiled as he watched his sister pulled up on to the stage with one of her three Poke Balls with Bonnie's Dedenne inside. She eyed the the Litwick who seemed content where it was on the floor of the stage until it turned to lock eyes with her. The tiny candlestick resembling Pokémon puffed its cheeks and gave a Mean Look at her that kept her from escaping the stage.

"Hey! If you're going to battle, do it outside! I haven't had to clean up after someone's battlefield in years and I won't start today!", the bartender warned the magician and Jovi.

"What? That's stupid.", Michael said to himself in disappointment.

"Boring.", Lovrina reacted unimpressed with the decision of the club owner.

"No problem. Our current volunteer will recite the proper technique of capturing a Pokémon all the while illusions will be performed. See now… Jovi is it? How does one catch a wild Pokémon?"

"Oh! Uhm… first of all you want to weaken it with a move… but we can't battle here though."

"Don't worry. That's why instead of using Pokémon for this trick, you will be using your mind. Please envision what you'd need to have a proper wild Pokémon capture."

"Oh? Um… alright. Well-"

"Describe how, but with your eyes closed.", Seth said to her with his left hand unveiled from his cloak and revealed to be fitted in some thick black sleeve that covered his entire arm down to the very tips of his fingers. By comparison it seems his left arm is significantly thicker than his right.

The audience, including Michael watched as the magician motioned his fingers in the air to form some sort of energy ball much like the naturally learned move by Ghost Pokémon, Shadow Ball. The sphere hovered with a plain blue aura that expanded in detail as Jovi described how to capture this particular Pokémon.

"It is a Ghost and Fire type, so weakening it with Water or Dark type moves would work…. My brother says paralyzing a Pokémon is the best status condition for capturing them so a quick jolt of an electric move like Thunder Wave would work. Then after it's been weakened, you throw a Poke Ball at it and hopefully it will stay in its ball after shaking around three times.", the blue dressed blue haired girl said aloud with her eyes closed.

The sphere of energy that was suspended in air developed a small surge of blue arcing electricity flashing around what seemed to be now a water bubble. With a small push in the air, Seth tossed the sphere of elemental sphere at the Litwick who was occupied staring at Jovi with its continuously used Mean Look attack. As soon as it impacted the little foreign Pokémon, the sphere exploded and blasted the little Pokémon against the far wall of the area where Naps was just coming out of the washroom with his hands cleaned. Startled at the bang of the Pokémon forcefully propelled at the wall beside him, he slipped back into the washroom to refresh himself some more before coming out again.

"You may open your eyes now. And take this Poke Ball so that you may proceed to capture this new strange Pokémon for yourself."

Jovi was amazed to see the Litwick having disappeared on stage in front of her but more amazed to see it nearly knocked out and dizzy near the entrance to the washroom. Seth levitated a single Poke Ball from the pockets under his cloak and dropped it onto the palm of her hand.

As soon as Michael noticed her sister's smile of excitement, he couldn't help but smile remembering his first time capturing his first real wild Pokémon in the Poke Spots Duking provided. Far different feeling from the first time he had to Snag a Shadow Pokémon from another trainer. The stress of the battle between him and the criminal was very alien and weird but later very easy to get used to once he became accustomed to snagging Shadow Pokémon every day. That first criminal no longer gave him the pressure though as he is now coming out of the washroom again to join his elder sister at their table again under a renewed and redeemed life style.

Jovi walked forward to the Litwick who was dizzy and paralyzed from the assistance of the magician. Everyone's eyes were on her minus Naps who was running to his seat. She threw the ball at it sucked it into the red and white capsule where. On the wooden floorboard it shook about three times before the button on the ball clicked with a small spark. Michael was the first to cheer with the rest of the viewers giving a small hooray and a round of applause for Jovi's first official Pokémon.

"Congratulations on your new friend. Ahh a wild capture in the Orre region again…. The very thought would give us all hope that the tides will turn in our favor soon if it weren't for the fact I had to pull it out of my now disintegrated hat. Never mind that though, congratulations young lady. Moving right along now with the show…"

Jovi returned to her seat with her new Pokémon in the Poke Ball in her hands. Michael scooted over beside his sister to admire the new strange Pokémon Jovi held on the table as she couldn't help but feel so excited over the new addition to her little Pokémon parties.

"For this next presentation, I will demonstrate my skills with the assistance of one my own friends to reveal a hidden…. Evolved form of its species! Medicham! Stand by ."

Seth levitated a Great Ball and sent out his Medichan beside him. The magician waved his left hand raised it into the air with a sudden purple glow that turned into a blinding light that enveloped himself and the Medicham. Michael and the others covered their eyes to keep themselves from being blinded by the light before it faded onto a strange drastically altered version of the Pokémon and its trainer.

"Behold! Through the miracle of a process secretly discovered by the finest Pokémon scientists hailing from the Orre region, Medicham has become Neo Medicham! Through the power imbued in my Key Stone and the sheer power of the bond between us, Medicham has achieved its ultimate temporary form as its hidden ultimate evolution, Neo Medicham!"

Everyone in the club, including even Lovrina, was in awe of the spectacle before them. The Neo Medicham had majestic ghostly arms floating from behind its back while having its head being drastically different from its previous red pattern to a much more rugged and beautiful white forehead that would remind one of a turban. Despite how powerful it looked however, its eyes closed shut and twitched as if it seemed to be in pain for a moment before Seth called to it.

"Alright everyone! Think of a drink that you would like off of the bar and Neo Medicham will provide it with Mind Reader followed by Psychic!"

As the members of the audience quickly thought of the drinks they'd want from the bar. Neo Medicham levitated ingredients off of the shelved under the bar quickly mashed berries and ice cream into a blender. The bartender was terrified see his utensils and ingredients hovering and thrown about under the control of the powerful Psychic type Pokémon for the fear of having to clean up a mess of proportions at his work station he'd never imagine.

An Oran Berry Soda was placed in front of the nurse at her table. Another Cheri Berry Martini for Lovrina and Chesto Juice for Naps served. An additional Pecha Berry Smoothie was given to Jovi but nothing was given to Michael as his mind was filled with wonder over who could have been the scientists Seth had mentioned that discovered Neo Evolution in the Orre region when he has been in Orre since he was an infant at his dad's old Pokémon Laboratory.

"Thank you Neo Medicham! Not only are you powerful as you are but you are also very useful as our waiter. I will pay for all the drinks distributed by our friend here."

The bartender was glad to hear the magician assure that he will get his payment for the beverages. He walked back to his station to organize what the Neo Medicham had placed and dropped from its performance. The magician faced the audience and continued to announce to everyone listening.

"Now for our next demonstration…. Thank you ,Neo Medicham, for your assistance. You may revert back and return to your ball now."

Seth returned the Neo Medicham to its Great Ball. Michael immediately raised his hand with a question for the black dressed gray haired magician.. The young man in black turned to the red haired teenage boy and acknowledged him.

"Yes Michael? Are you curious about Neo Evolution by any chance?"

"You said that scientists from Orre discovered…. Whatever that was, Neo Evolution? Where and when did that happen and with who?", Michael asked with great curiosity for the odd evolutionary concept he'd never seen before.

"Why by the scientists that used to work for Cipher before the syndicate was destroyed. You should know." Seth replied.

"Wait a minute I was part of Cipher! I was even a high ranking administrator of their science team! I've so never heard of anything about this 'Neo Evolution' when I was in charge. What are you talking about?!", Lovrina objected while standing up off of her seat with her eyebrows closed together in her short burst of anger over the possibilities of this strange new concept hidden from her when she was working with Cipher.

"What if I told you… and you who used to be part of the evil syndicate without remorse for your crime against Pokémon kind…. That an organization as secret and malignant as Cipher had their secret experiments and agendas besides making Shadow Pokémon? A different discovery to be exploited for the use of world domination could have been put in place it if weren't for the circumstances that took place that day on Citadark Isle by the hero that delivered them to their destruction.", Seth answered to both of his sceptics.

Michael immediately unleashed a barrage of questions at the magician on stage without reflecting on Seth's passive aggressive tone towards him. His questions came quickly as this has been the most interesting event that ever happened in all his time cooped up in the Orre region with little to no progression despite his own attempts to bring the world's attention to the arid region.

"Are they still here? The scientists? Who discovered this? What are their names? Why do-", the red headed teen was suddenly interrupted in his asking spree.

"All questions will be answered in time. A true magician does not reveal the origins of his tricks to his audience. But now as we're nearing the end of my show due to my unfortunate schedule, I must ask for one more volunteer from the audience. This time, I have already chosen who it will be. You, Michael, please come on stage."

All the eyes in the club suddenly turned their gazes at the red headed teenage boy who was caught in the middle of his interrogation of the magician. He turned about looking back at his sister who seemed excited at the thought of seeing her brother volunteer in this next illusion whatever it may be. Michael didn't know if he should trust Seth with his magic tricks he felt he still hated him for the lack luster battle at the lighthouse. If he were to do something malicious to as a sort of revenge, Michael wouldn't know what to do if anything were to go wrong. Looking at his thick left arm under its fastened black sleeve it appears his "gauntlet" might actually be the source of his magic he keeps hidden under his cloak, but its potential is still very unknown to him.

"Me? Now? Me?", Michael asked repeatedly in that brief moment with both of his hands pointing toward himself with uncertainty.

"Go on big brother!", Jovi urged him with a smile as she held her Poke Ball on the table and eagerly looked up at him.

The spiky red haired teen hesitated to even begin making his way up on stage. He looked at Seth who was looking at him back with a smile and his right hand stretched out for him to grab. Everyone was waiting in anticipation for his arrival on stage.

"You are no stranger to mystery. Come up here and be ready to embark on a new adventure! A new game! Don't worry, I can assure you everything will be fine.", the magician said to him with his hand still out for him to grab.

Michael reluctantly took his right hand that was offered to him and was pulled up on to the stage. He faced the small audience and stood still with a small unsettled expression on his face as the magician spoke.

"Now Michael, pay attention to the sound of my voice as you close your eyes and relax. Clear your mind of worries and imagine yourself in the air… on the count of three, you will go into a deep sleep and you will know when to wake up."

The red headed teenage boy shrugged at the notion that he could be hypnotized by the magician without the use of a Psychic type Pokémon. He raised his eyebrows as he turned to look at him before his eyes focused on his black gloved hand in front of his face. Seth snapped his finger in front of his face before Michael immediately felt dizzy as his vision started to blackout.

"Hmm… he doesn't look entirely hypnotized yet. Sleep now… so that you may be of use to me…", the magician said to Michael before he placed his thick left hand hidden in the thick glove that concealed his entire left arm on his forehead.

Before Michael could react, he blacked out entirely as soon as he felt Seth's palm push his forehead so hard he fell backwards into a freefall. He felt himself falling in a void before he suddenly felt himself impact the ground. He felt a soft ground that seemed to be grown with a layer of grass as he began to regain his consciousness. He woke up in the middle of unfamiliar forest clearing in a sunny afternoon. An immediate spring breeze blew across his face as opened his eyes to see the blue sky.

"….. Wow uh…. Where…. Did that magician just teleport me? Or am I dreaming? He hypnotized me into dreaming didn't he?", Michael assumed as he picked himself up off the grass.

He couldn't see anything of interest within his initial scan of the forest that surrounded him until he heard Bird Pokémon squawking overhead. He looked up to see that there were a flock of wild Pidgeys flapping through the sunlit blue sky. The sight of wild Pokémon again excited Michael before he realized with the harsh reality of this situation. He must be in a dream if Wild Pokémon had actually returned to the Orre region again.

The green leaves of the trees rustled in the summer breeze. A single Seedot could be seen hanging on a branch sucking nutrients off of its tree while it slept. The smell of sap and fresh air from the lush environment would have made Michael think he had actually been teleported to a different region if it weren't for the obvious fact that he is still volunteering for the magician's last trick at this very moment.

"Where are you two? Come out!", a voice called from beyond the trees.

Michael's ears caught the sound of the mysterious and slightly familiar voice. He couldn't quite tell who it belonged to. Nevertheless, with his old sense of discovery returning to him from his old days, he ventured through the tall grass to find the source of the calling. As he came closer to the source, he slowly felt an odd feeling of déjà vu as he began recognizing the particular trees and scenery as he progressed.

"Wow…. Have I been here before? …. Maybe…. It's so nice here though...", he said to himself before he froze in place when he heard the sudden sound of a man calling.

"I have ice cream pops for both of you! Your favorite flavors, Sea Salt and Pecha Berry!"

Michael raised his eyebrows with astonishment at them mention of Sea Salt flavored ice cream. It was his favorite flavor he loved since he was a child. He can't remember the last time he enjoyed such a flavor since it was a rare flavor of ice cream that hasn't been sold anywhere in the Orre region. It had to be made using an ice cream maker his father bought a long time ago.

"Sea Salt?... wow that brings me back… that salty but sweet taste in your mouth… I hadn't had that in ages… not since…."

Suddenly he heard the noise of twigs and leaves being kicked and run over by something or someone. He spied out a single figure beyond the bushes spread in front of him. Michael, figuring that this must be some sort of revenge from the magician, he decided not to fear it and rather confront to show the magician he is competent; maybe not heroic, but still able enough to take on a challenge.

The teen ventured through the forest; kicking away loose sticks and cutting through small trees that blocked his way. He could see the silhouette of the figure was actually a white lab coat wearing man. The man who was facing away from him was brown haired and wore glasses judging by what he wore over his ears. His hair was messed up as if he truly was a scientist who spent hours of dedication to his research. Michael approached the man and attempted to greet him.

"Hello?"

As soon as he spoke, the world froze in place. The sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze stopped entirely. It's as if the entire world froze along with the lab coated man who was facing away from him. Confused and startled, Michael hesitated as he slowly tried to touch the lab coated man's shoulder. In a blink of his eyes, he found himself not in the calming pleasant forest but in a much darker and confusing scene.

He was in a large dark room with a metal floor as he could tell from his footsteps. Adding to the sound of his echoing footsteps, he could hear a strange ambiance of breathing and echoes of strange sounds he couldn't identify in the darkness. Michael fell silent with his heartbeat beating loudly from his feeling of dread. He blinked his eyes repeatedly in the darkness to see what seemed to be pair glowing red eyes staring up at him on the dark floor.

Upon having his eyes adjusted to the darkness he could see the eyes belonged to a Rattata looking up at him in front of his feet. Another pair of red eyes revealed themselves next to the Rattata revealing a Spearow in the darkness looking up at Michael. Then suddenly a flash of five more red eyes belonging to Pokémon revealed themselves in the dark until the seemingly large dark room was illuminated by the glow of so many eyes belonging to Pokémon all looking at him. The befuddled teen tried to identify where he was in the ominous glow of the eyes until suddenly the glow of the eyes stopped when they disappeared in the darkness, leaving only one pair of eyes belonging to a Pokémon that seemed to be airborne in the far distance of the dark room. The sound of his heartbeat eclipsed the noise and cries the Pokémon made as the large airborne Pokémon flew itself closer. Its eyes acted as a pair of spotlights that blinded the red headed teen before it dimmed. He could feel it flying towards him over the horde of Pokémon that surrounded him. Michael raised his arms over his face to brace himself for the coming confrontation.

"And there you have it! Now we know that even when hypnotized, one can have the voice of the world's best singer that ever lived!", Seth the magician said to the audience of the Krabby Club as Michael woke up from his brief nightmare.

Michael gasped for air with his eyes widened in his sudden realization that he is in the real world apparently. He was back on stage in the Krabby Club with the magician who apparently just finished his last trick of the night. Seeing his younger sister back at her table, Lovrina and her brother at their table, and the nurse and bartender at the bar in the back behind tables, it's as if he had been gone for only a few minutes.

"Haha! Encore! Encore!", Jovi cheered as she clapped from her seat.

A few of the club goers laughed and clapped along with her. Michael couldn't bring himself to adapt himself to the lighter mood of the club after the strange ordeal he had just experienced. The magician smiled and bowed for the applause as the red headed teenage boy turned to him with a greatly concerned look on his still shaking face.

"W-What just happened?!"

"You were hypnotized into being a professional singer! Haha!", laughed Jovi as she couldn't stop smiling at what she had just seen her brother do.

Michael was dumbfounded at his sister's brief explanation. He turned to the magician who had been enjoying the small applause of the small audience. The red headed teenage boy shot his questions at him again with his adrenaline still pumping through his veins.

"What was that?! What did you just show me?!", asked Michael.

"What was what? I don't know what you're going on about. You seemed quite happier when you were under my spell I must say.", Seth replied with a grin on his face.

"You mean you had nothing to do with what I just saw?!"

"What? What did you see? The subconscious of one's mind can be a very frightening place. If you had experienced a hallucination during our presentation I'm very sincerely sorry.", the magician apologized as he returned his thick sleeved left arm under his cloak.

Michael couldn't tell whether he should forgive him and forget or stay suspicious of the caped man. He isn't one to hold grudges, but he will never think of Seth the same way again after the vision that he provided through his hypnosis. Whether it was intentional or not, Michael decided to calm down and drop the subject as he jumped off the stage and stood beside his table again. The image of those likely representations of Shadow Pokémon still resonating within his mind, he sat down with his hand wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"I thank you all for coming to my show tonight. In today's troubled times in Orre, I cannot express enough how much I appreciate all of you coming here to see my illusions and a sample of the mystery behind Neo Evolution. For the time being I can only say that I will be meeting some of you again soon hopefully as I will be staying in Orre all week, but for now I must disappear. I bid you all adieu.", dismissed the magician as he walked through the heart shaped entrance into the backstage area.

Michael eyed him as he faded into the darkened backstage area. The sound of his footsteps stopped as soon as Seth disappeared behind the stage. He expected to hear more of his footsteps as he would walk up the stairs into the entertainer's quarters. It seemed that he stayed backstage for some reason. In the darkness behind the stage however he wiped his eyes to keep from possibly hallucinate another pair of red eyes looking at him from the dark.

With the show over, Lovrina and Naps stayed at their table arguing over who could have kept Neo Evolution a secret from them when they were part of Cipher as they waited for their new potential employer. The nurse walked back outside to examine the sailor's new Slaking. The bartender stayed in his workstation resuming his duty of cleaning the glasses of his few customers. Jovi sat by her brother in distress and patted him on the shoulder before asking him.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?", Jovi asked Michael with concern as she sat beside him.

Michael shook his head with his eyes squinting at the surface of the table they sat at. He debated whether or not he should even tell Jovi about the realistic visions he had involving the strange lab coated man and the group of Pokémon most likely representing Shadow Pokémon. When he turned to look at her for a moment her concerned look showed she really wanted to know. The red headed teen briefly took a moment to decide between telling her about the the forest vision or the dark vision with the manifestations of Shadow Pokémon.

"When I was under his spell… I saw… lab coated man in a thriving forest….", the red headed boy muttered as he then tried to spot the magician through the heart shaped doorway backstage again.

"Really? Just a scientist in a forest? In a dream?", the younger sister asked intrigued by Michael's dream so far.

"This scientist was looking for something while holding two ice cream pops in his hands. A Sea Salt and a Pecha Berry Flavored ice cream pop."

"Ooh I love Pecha Berry! Go on.", Jovi said to Michael as she kept listening with a smile on her face.

Michael explained to his sister what had happened in the dream he had while he was hypnotized. He explained the transition between when he tried to talk to the scientist into the darker vision where he told what had happened there. Jovi was amazed what how her brother described his dream and gave him her undivided attention. Michael explained that the eyes in the darkness of his vision belonged to what he thought to belong to many different unkown Shadow Pokémon. Some of the Pokémon he could tell he had already snagged and purified while others were never seen as Shadow Pokémon before from what he could remember in his list on his P DA . After finishing explaining what he had seen, Michael told Jovi about the other weird things he saw today including one Cipher's hover trucks in the middle of the desert and Fateen's warning in Pyrite Town.

"Fateen's warning… these visions… the truck in the desert… the lab's Purify Chamber out of order…. Why is this happening today? What is happening?", Michael asked himself as he scratched his scalp under his blue headband.

"Well….. well maybe…. Well I wouldn't think about it too much but maybe there's something you forgot to take care during the Shadow Pokémon incident… since most of what you're saying seems to hint at there's something else that needs attention.", the blue haired girl suggested to her older brother as she thought deeply about what it could all mean.

"… Would you care to explain?", Michael requested of his younger sister as he couldn't read her mind.

"Oh uh well…. If you think about it, Cipher was basically a bunch of mad scientists right? And they wanted to rule the world with these altered Pokémon by having their hearts artificially closed right? And remember what Seth said about Neo Evolution?"

"Neo Evolution right…. He said that Cipher's scientists discovered it… though it looks like Lovrina didn't have anything to do with it.", he said nodding his head at the logic his sister presented.

"Secrets! Secret projects! Secret weapons! Imagine the mysteries those old buildings held full of secrets. Like the secret room you have your stuff in back home! The lab in the desert and the Key Lair should both have its fair share of mysteries. Who knows what Cipher had up their sleeve before you came along and stomped them.", explained Jovi with a excited at the thought of a hidden adventure waiting in their midst.

"What made you think of that?", asked the older brother who was surprised to see his younger sister deduce such a theory.

"I…. read manga….", Jovi admitting smiling with a little red on her cheeks.

"You do?! Wow I didn't think-", Michael was interrupted by his sister.

"And anime! Haha! The Trozei series with Lucy Fleetfoot is my favorite anime. But the manga series had just that, mad scientists who left secrets behind in their laboratory when Lucy defeated them long ago. Maybe we have the same situation here!", she explained further with a smile.

The older red haired brother was amused by his sister's logic. As farfetched as it seemed, it looks to be the most probable scenario. He imagined himself investigating the abandoned facilities tomorrow to see if his sister's theory could be proven true.

"So what Fateen and that dream with the red eyed Pokémon are telling me… that if I don't find what these 'secrets' is before it's too late… Shadow Pokémon will return?", Michael said trying to map the possible outcomes together.

"Hmmmmm could be! But I know whatever happens you can stop it! You and your Pokémon are invincible! …. Well on good days anyway…. Heh…", Jovi tried not to bring her brother down by remembering that he was certainly not invincible in the short battle he had with Seth on the lighthouse.

"But anyway. If anyone can do it, you can do it. I believe in you.", she added with an assuring smile that forced a smile back from her older brother.

"Thanks sis. I'll go investigate your theory tomorrow, but for now how about we go home with what we came here for?", Michael suggested the notion of returning to the HQ Lab.

The siblings were about to leave their table when they were approached on their way out of the Krabby Club. Without any warning, Seth was standing behind them as they approached the door as if he just teleported behind them without even taking a step across the floor. The magician caught Michael's attention by calling his name.

"Michael! I want to speak to you for a moment before you leave if you would be kind enough to lend me some of your time.", Seth requested of him.

"Oh? Uh… what is it?", the red headed teen replied a little nervous to even make eye contact with the magician with the ordeal he had just experienced.

"I feel that we got off on the wrong foot earlier today… I'm sorry for my bad temper and manners on the top of the lighthouse.", the young man apologized for his behavior.

Michael was a little shocked to hear the apology from the stranger. He raised his eyebrows with curiosity suspicion of the dark dressed gray haired magician before shrugging and deciding to accept his apology.

"It's alright. Just please don't keep your expectations so high of someone you've never met next time.", he advised the stranger.

"Right…. I suppose it was silly of me to think you would be the same heroic child that stopped Cipher four years ago…. Not that you should take offense. Times change, I understand."

"Hmhmm…..", Michael disdainfully agreed before almost proceeding to out the door with his sister to feel sudden vibrations on the floor they stood.

Sounds of smashing and screaming were heard outside on the patio deck. Jovi looked back at Michael with a shocked fearful expression for what was going on outside. The two quickly walked through the automatic doors to see tables flipped and chairs smashed to splintered pieces. The sailor was unconscious on the stairs with the nurse injured on the marble black and green tiled floor of the street. The siblings and the magician rushed to the sides of the two injured victims.

"What happened here?!", the red headed teen asked the nurse when he approached her to pick her up off the ground.

Jovi stood by her brother's side as the magician tended to the knocked out sailor sprawled on the stairs. The nurse held her hand over the pain in her back as she stood up with Michael's help. She pointed into the darkness across the pier to the other side of town near Makan's Shop.

"The Slaking just blew us away with one punch and jumped across the town on the bridges. I don't know what set it off but it's angry…"

An echo of a roaring Pokémon could be heard coming from the other side of town. Michael could see the shadow of a big Pokémon irrationally acting like no Slaking should with their natural docile and lazy natures. The Seth stood beside Michael as he spied the rogue Pokémon too.

"Interesting….", Seth muttered to himself as he observed the large silhouette walking across the far pier.

"What are we going to do Michael? It might attack us if we try to get to Emili's house…", Jovi asked with concern as she watched the darkened parts of town for the potential threat waiting for them.

"A simple Slaking shouldn't be too hard to beat. Especially some Kanto-raised Slaking. That salesman must not have trained it very well…", Michael expressed his thoughts on the matter of the relatively foreign Pokémon.

"Well trained or not, it's out of control. I'll tend to the sailor but somebody needs to take care of that Pokémon somehow…. ", the nurse said to the three before she lifted the sailor's hands and dragged him into the Krabby Club.

"Right. I'll take care of it… we can't leave without that bag of parts..", the red headed teen said as he started planning how he'll approach the enraged Slaking.

"You stay here Jovi. I"ll be back in a moment."

Michael proceeded to walk down the marble plaza street past the Pokémon Center on to the cement of the southern part of the port town (in the perspective of one entering the town). Jovi watched with the magician observing nearby as they could see the big bulky Pokémon slowly walking towards him with its fists lifted and clenched ready to fight.

Michael couldn't see its eyes in the dark of the night. Upon further inspection under the light of the street lamps, the Slaking seemed to be walking with its eyes closed. Despite how strange it was to see it operate without sight, it roared ferociously and slammed the cement ready to charge at the teen.

"Houndoom! Flamethrower!", he called out and issued his Pokémon's first attack as he threw the Poke Ball straight out of his black bag strapped to the side of his waist.

Stopping in the Slaking's tracks was a stream of flames spewed from the Houndoom's mouth. Enduring the flames, it jumped forward and grabbed the Dark Pokémon to throw it back at its trainer. Houndoom let out a yelp as it was tossed towards Michael who was stricken with amazement at what he was seeing before he ducked to narrowly miss the impact.

"That just made it angry!", Jovi shouted.

"It's already angry! Houndoom return! Go Hitmonchan! Mach Punch!", Michael shouted as he swapped out of his Pokémon while he kept his distance away from the Slaking.

The Fighting type came out charging for the enraged Pokémon and delivered a swift blow to the stomach. The Slaking brushed off the supposedly super effective attack and crushed Hitmonchan with a brutal ground pound attack. The Hitmonchan laid flat on its back on the cracked cement with arms sprawled and twitching eyes with a half-smile on its face.

Michael returned the Hitmonchan as he narrowly dodged the Slaking's swinging fists. Jovi shrieked in response to how close her brother was going to get hurt. She would begin fearing even more when she would see the Slaking slam the ground around the teen to knock him off his feet and on to his back. The image of seeing him about to get pummeled drew her to run to his rescue with his Dusknoir's Poke Ball in hand.

"Michael hold on! Go Dusknoir! Help him!", she shouted as she summoned the Gripper Pokemon out of its ball and between the brute and her brother.

With quick and immediate instincts, Dusknoir blocked Slaking's attack and bought Michael enough time to get up and call out one of his emergency Pokémon. Presenting itself with arcs and sparks with electricity, the Slaking would toss aside the Dusknoir to reveal the legendary Pokémon that Michael had to save from its villainous trainer. Coming at the rampaging Pokémon with a swift arc of electricity, Michael's Zapdos electrocuted its savior's attacker and made sure the Slaking will be stopped.

After being electrocuted with the Zapdos' Thunder attack, the Slaking fell forward on its face. Michael could see its eyes temporarily open to reveal something he thought he was imagining with his mind still recovering from what he saw in the vision. It appeared its eyes glowed red very briefly before dimming out of its abnormality. Michael rubbed his own eyes to see if he was hallucinating but the Slaking's eyes seemed to have been normal the entire time.

Zapdos stood perched beside the Slaking and stared at it to ensure it wouldn't get up to hurt its trainer again. Michael's Dusknoir approached his trainer and happily offered him his hand in the air for their victory. At first the red headed teen was unaware of what his new foreign Pokémon wanted, but then he understood and laughed as he gave his Ghost Pokémon a High Five with a collision of their palms together in the air.

"Michael! Are you alright?", called out Michael's younger sister as she ran to his side mindful of the fainted Slaking on the ground.

"Thanks to you! Throwing Dusknoir in between me and Slaking before it could hit me was really quick thinking on your part! Thanks sis!", Michael thanked his blue haired sister who was standing in front of him with a concerned expression on her face that turned into a smile with little bits of red on her cheek.

"Ha thank you big brother. It was nothing…", she said scratching the back of her head with grin on her face."

"Well done! That was an impressive show you've put on there.", Seth said as he approached the siblings and their Pokémon.

Michael's Pokémon stood silent as the cloaked gray haired magician stood beside the Slaking on the ground. Seth was fascinated by the presence of the legendary bird Pokémon that was under Michael's care. He took a moment to admire its majesty before examining the fainted Slaking that lay beside his feet.

"I may have misjudged you, Michael. But I'll have to take points off for needing your sister to rescue you.", he said grading his overall performance as if he were his school teacher.

Michael was not amused by the man's banter but he remained silent when he turned his attention to his sister.

"You though. You seem to hold potential to be a hero too. Maybe you'll follow in your brother's footsteps and be become a legend yourself someday? You're already a trainer, all you need is to find a start to your own legend.", the magician said with a smile that was illuminated by the light of the street lamps.

"Me? You really think so?", Jovi asked with wonder of what journey she could embark on comparable to her brother's famous tale.

"Everyone has the potential to be the hero in his or her own story. All it takes is the will and effort to make a change in the world.", the magician added to his statement.

"Are we not going to talk about this Slaking?! Why was it attacking me with its eyes closed? Why was it attacking me at all?! It didn't act like a Slaking should.", Michael said bringing everyone's attention to the battle that just took place.

"What do you mean?", his sister asked for what he was referring to.

"The Slaking's ability, Traunt, makes it loaf around every time it uses a move. I couldn't tell what move it was using but it was not resting in between its attacks. It wouldn't stop attacking and it was so angry!", the red headed teen explained its odd behavior he observed during the battle.

"And what's even weirder, just as it fell, it opened its eyes and I saw them glowing red for a split second before they dimmed back to normal… I'm not sure though, that might have been just a hallucination from the reflections of the street lamps, but it's still very strange…", Michael explained further trying to recall what he had seen with reason.

"I can't help but think… that it sort of acts like a Shadow Pokémon from four years ago…"

"Really? That's an interesting statement.", the magician said as he leaned forward over the Slaking to examine it further.

Jovi stood by her brother as she watched Seth lift Slaking's left eye lid. Michael's Zapdos stood guard as the magician finished his examination. Michael returned his legendary electric bird Pokémon back to its ball after feeling that the Slaking won't be rising anytime soon. Approaching from the direction of the Krabby Club, the nurse came running with a Poke Ball in her hand.

"I've got its Poke Ball! I can return it to its trainer if it's calmed down now after healing it.", said the pink dressed nurse as she approached the scene.

After Seth had stepped away from the fainted Pokémon, the nurse returned the Slaking to the sailor's ball. The nurse bowed to the three before proceeding to walk back into her Pokémon Center with the Slaking in its ball. The red haired teenager, the blue haired sister, and the magician were left in front of the stairs to the gate of Gateon Port. Michael's Dusknoir hovered near his trainer's sister as he waited for its return to his capsule the girl held.

"Well that settles this episode don't you agree? Hopefully I'll see you two tomorrow.", Seth asked Michael as turned to face the direction of the Krabby Club.

Michael didn't bother responding to his banter as he was already imagining what he was going to do tomorrow. He was to go back to Gateon Port to scan the Slaking with his Aura Reader to see if his gut feeling was correct. As unlikely as it is, a Shadow Pokémon that has not been documented on the Shadow List in his P DA could exist and he missed it long ago. The signs he's seen today must mean something is coming his way, he felt he should start his investigating tomorrow with the sailor's suspicious Pokémon received from the foreign salesman.

Jovi felt a tap on her shoulder before she noticed she had not returned her brother's Dusknoir who caught her attention. She returned it and waited by her brother's side as she watched Seth walk back to the patio of the Krabby Club. Michael watched the magician walk away from the scene with his sense of suspicion about the stranger. Despite Seth's claim to having been born in Orre with a career in entertainment, Michael has never heard of him in his entire life.

"I guess he really needed to be back there…" Jovi commented on Seth's departure back to the club.

"Whatever. Let's get those supplies from Emili's and head back to the lab.", her brother said before beginning to make his way toward Makan's dimly lit shop.

In a moment, Michael and Jovi had begun ascending up the stairs of Gateon Port's gate with the repairing equipment strapped to Michael's back in a bag. The gateway was barely illuminated by the broken flickering welcome sign, but beside it on the cracked pavement was a strange object Michael hadn't seen in four years.

"Wait a minute isn't that one of those item chests you told me about?", Jovi asked her older brother when she noticed the small container.

"Yes! I wonder who left it here…. If it's not locked, you're free to loot what's inside. I used to find stuff like Potions or Poke Balls in my adventure long ago. Although this looks like a new model…"

The usual Poke Ball pattern Michael had seen on the item chests he found long ago was different from this chest. Its top was painted purple instead of red but its bottom half remained white like its usual counterparts. The red headed teen was amazed to see such a variant of item chests ever existed in Orre.

"So I can just open it and take what's inside?", Jovi asked her brother again.

"Yes! Go on now. Take it so I can get this thing off my back sooner.", the red headed teen replied adjusting his posture with the immense weight on his back.

Jovi pressed the capsule button on the Poke Ball resembling chest and released the lock. Her blue eyes beheld a strange clear ball that appeared to contain purple smoke inside. Michael could see the item and identified it for his sister.

"That's a Smoke Ball! It's not a Poké Ball, but it's an item you throw on the grown to make a smoke screen to escape battles! …. I'm not sure what use it is to us here though."

"How did you know all that?", asked Jovi as she placed the Smoke Ball in her own Items Pocket in her blue shirt.

"I used to have friends from Kanto and Hoenn remember? …. Who knows if they still remember me here… or even remember talking to someone from the Orre region at some point…", said the tired hero of the isolated region to his sister.

"Oh…. Well don't worry about it big bro. Today was a different day don't you think? Maybe things will start looking up for us soon…", Jovi said in her usual optimistic manner as she began walking towards her hovercycle desert zoomer parked by her brother's on the sand

"I'll say it's different…. but if there something that I'm quite thankful for today, as weird as it was,… I actually kinda enjoyed the thrill of fighting that Slaking and the few magic tricks the magician performed at the club… even if it did leave me scarred from the last act…. So bizarre…", Michael said remembering the cryptic vision that still haunted him while still raising his suspicion of Seth at the same time.

"That is strange… you definitely didn't look like you were in a nightmare up there. You sung like a world famous singer and you were so happy! You definitely looked happy with your smile and all."

"Well…. More than what meets the eye I suppose…. Hold on… eyes…. Were my eyes open when I was on stage singing?", Michael asked with a sudden thought as to the reasoning why the enraged Slaking was fighting with its eyes closed so well.

"Ummm no? No I don't think so. You were hypnotized with your eyes wide open. I've never thought I would ever see somebody sleep with their eyes open, let alone sing under hypnosis with his eyes open! But there's a first for everything I suppose haha!", said Jovi with a laugh as she sat on her vehicle ready to ride back home.

With that known, Michael's suspicion over Seth for ever being partially responsible for the Slaking's strange behavior was lessened. It still leaved him curious and suspicious over the foreign salesman who Michael couldn't bother remembering what other region he came from. He knew in his heart something must be very wrong about that man with that stupid smile on his face.

Reviewing his schedule for tomorrow, he sees that he is going to be the busiest he has ever been in a long time with investigating his sister's theory at Cipher's abandoned facilities and inspecting the Slaking at Gateon Port. With very little happening in Orre, this was actually very desirable for Michael for the potential of beginning a whole new adventure. Even if it's a short one just to prevent a hidden catastrophe growing in the mysterious depths of Cipher's installations. The secret of Neo Evolution must also be found in Cipher's laboratories if possible.

Michael sat on his hovercycle with his heavy bag of metal and supplies still strapped to his back and proceeded to drive back to the lab with his sister on her own zoomer. They made their way across the darkened with the illumination of the headlights on their vehicles. Throughout their ride, Michael tried not to think of his vison as he casted his eyes sight on the darkness of the forest surrounding their trail home.

Even though Orre's forest is devoid of all life as is the large barren desert, Michael can't help but feel that he is being watched just as he zoomed across the forest. The feeling of being gazed upon by the Shadow Pokémon from his vision haunted him and chilled him every time he zipped across the pitch black darkness of the foliage around him. His sister provided him comfort with her presence beside him on her blue vehicle however, as they safely made their way home to rest. Tomorrow is a new day.


	2. Episode 2 Part 1 of 3

It was a quiet morning in the HQ Lab. The few staff that remained in their dorms slept soundly in the silent Orre morning. Not even the leaves of the trees outside were filling the air with the noise of crackles and rustling in the wind. The region of Orre is silent, but in the secret wing of the laboratory, the small underground bunker Michael uses as his work place for different innovations, his sister sits at his computer using the GTS Emulator to trade back Bonnie's Pokémon in exchange for her own two Pokémon given to her by her father.

Mimi the Minun and Pluplu the Plusle had returned in their Poke Balls and were immediately let out to enjoy being back in their home again after a their short vacation in the beautiful foreign region of Kalos. Jovi thanked the little blonde girl on the screen of her brother's computer and waved her goodbye before signing off of the GTS Emulator video chat.

"Well that settles that….", she said to herself clicking off the chat room window.

Before Jovi would proceed to enter the internet to read more of the Pokémon Trozei manga starring Lucy Fleetfoot, her curiosity brought her attention to a document folder on her brother's desktop screen. She'd never tell him, but Jovi would often look at his log to see what he had been doing with his experiments and attempted connections with the world outside of Orre. Here though it doesn't seem to be anything new to her as this was likely typed last week.

(X Month, XX Day.)

So today I found out that my work was already being presented in the Kalos Region without my credit. The Super Training SIM application and the Proto Robo Trainer Chobin and Kaminko helped me create were already presented in Kalos without me knowing it. For two months, Clemont had lied to me about not having presented our projects. Who knows if he has secretly replicated my other designs and inventions I bothered to share with him. Am I angry? Well I'm not as angry as I am intrigued by what I've learned. Devon Corp and Silph Co. may not be as open minded as he was, but at least they were far more honest about not wanting anything to do with some tinkerer from Orre. Just because a region is lush and beautiful doesn't mean it doesn't have its fair share of filth.

(End of Log.)

Just as Jovi finished reading the log, the footsteps of her brother echoed the in the small bunker. She turned to see Michael at the door looking back at her with eye brows raised in his surprise to see her up early. The blue haired girl at her brother's PC quickly closed the log and faced her brother with a smile and a wave.

"Hi big brother! Had a good sleep?"

"What are you doing up so early?", the red headed teen asked of his blue haired sister until he turned to see a familiar Plusle and Minun playing around by the skeleton of his holographic skinned automaton

He instantly realized what she had been doing. The red headed teen turned to see the two Cheering Pokémon investigating the metal skeleton sitting in the corner. It was not until they accidentally charged the automaton with a small electric shock from their cheeks that they left it alone. The holographic robot skeleton twitched in its small charge from the two Electric Types and scared them into retreating under Jovi's seat. They watched it twitch for a moment before the automaton returned to its lifeless dormant state sitting against the wall.

"They were home sick, so Bonnie traded them back to me. Right Mimi and Pluplu?", the blue haired girl asked the two little electric rodents hopping up on to the desk cheerfully responding to their trainer with a little cry.

"Aww. Don't know what you have until it's gone huh?", Michael said to Pluplu as he walked up to her sitting on the table to rub behind the Pokémon's ears.

The little red cheeked Electric Pokémon smiled in her delight of being rubbed behind its big ears. The Plusle then hopped off the table to scurry along the floor towards the metal skeleton again to play around with it. The red headed teen didn't mind having his scrapped inventions tossed around or mistreated anymore as his current focus was on what he has been planning to do today. He faced the glass case mounted on the wall beside the drawers near the automaton's corner and approached it.

He lifted the protective casing and revered the sight of his father's impressive invention he left behind long ago. The Snag Machine used to help liberate Shadow Pokémon from their trainers during the last Shadow Pokémon incident. Its steel plated shoulder piece and hand cup were connected to each other through a cable that would run down the arm of its wearer. Its small padded sleeves under the shoulder plate slid through Michael's left hand and fastened around its shoulder with his hand fitted into the glove under the complicated machinery meant to convert ordinary Poke Balls into Snag Balls.

A wave of nostalgia blew through Michael's mind as he gazed at his well-equipped left arm. He smiled as he experienced déjà vu when he thought back to the first day he had equipped the contraption. He stretched his arm out wore into the armor before realizing he had forgotten to equip the important Aura Reader still sitting within the Snag Machine's case. Without it, he would not be able to identify Shadow Pokémon in the first place.

"Wow Michael that thing still fits you! …. But does it work?", Jovi asked standing beside her brother to look at the marvel that is their father's work.

When Michael tried to activate the machine to have itself ready to transform Poke Balls into Snag Balls, it was unresponsive. He shook his arm a little and banged his shoulder piece. The machine could not start itself for some reason. It wasn't until a small beeping sound emitted off of the metallic unlit hand piece that the red headed teen realized what the problem was.

"It's internal battery has run dry… It needs a new battery.", he said tugging on the unlit cable of his arm mounted machine.

"So that's why it's lights are out? Dang…. Can you fix it?", asked his blue haired sister as she examined the unlit dome on his left hand.

"All we need is a new battery. But I'm not sure if we have any more of this specific battery here…"

"How about at Kaminko's? I'm sure Chobin would be happy to help.", Jovi suggested before picking up a Poke Ball off of Michael's desk to admire her new Pokémon inside.

"Maybe…. Hey is that the… Litwick is it called?", Michael asked as he observed the strange candlestick resembling Ghost Pokémon in the capsule held in his sister's hands. He raised his eyebrows as it looked back from inside its Poke Ball at him with a fixed neutral expression on its face.

"Mind if I bring it with us when we go to Kaminko's?", she asked with a smile before placing the ball in her blue shirt pocket.

"Oh? You're coming with me?"

"If it's an adventure like you had four years ago I want in! I'm a trainer now, I can handle things myself. I just want the chance like you had Michael! I have my Pokemon to help me, Mimi and Pluplu will be with me too! I just-"

"Yes! Yes I understand haha! I get it. You're welcome to join me. Although I seriously doubt anything is happening even though I still need to investigate that sailor's Slaking in Gateon Port… and that salesman."

"I bet you're just paranoid about him. I doubt that man had anything to do with the Slaking using Sleep Talk to attack you."

"But it wasn't asleep! I know it wasn't asleep. And it should have been resting after every attack like a normal Slaking.", Michael defended his suspicions with a hint of agitation in his voice.

"Well I guess we'll just have to find your evidence to support your paranoia won't we?", Jovi replied with a smirk before proceeding to call her Minun and Plusle back into their balls to ready for the coming journey.

"Right… I bet we'll find something in Cipher's abandoned facilities, the lab in the desert and the Cipher Key Lair. If they have any connection to that salesman I will be the first to kick that trash bag back to Kanto where he belongs! Or Johto, I can't bother to remember where the heck he came from.", Michael stated with his left machine mounted fist clenched in slight anger.

"Ahaha! Alright big brother. I'm not going to help you find your way again like I used to back then, so lead the way!", Jovi gave him permission to be the leader of their party.

"First of all, let's visit Kaminko's Manor to see if they have a battery for the Snag Machine. We can't be too certain Shadow Pokémon are extinct now with the signs I've seen lately. Although it's highly improbable, we just need to be sure. The Purify Chamber also needs to be repaired but that can be handled later. The supplies we got yesterday will only help to an extent as we still need something to fix the consoles that broke in the impact."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!", urged the blue haired younger sister before escaping the underground bunker into the laboratory wing.

In ten minutes after departing from the lab. The siblings were on their hovercycles zooming across the forested region of Orre to the manor of the absent minded inventor. The trees that surrounded the forest trail they traversed through gradually grew more dense and dark as they drew nearer to the house with two giant electrodes on its roof generating a constant dark cloud in the sky over the property of Dr. Kaminko.

Upon parking at the gate of the courtyard, the two siblings strolled across the courtyard around the dried Groudon Fountain in the center of the crossing stone paths. Looking at the lawn and courtyard of the manor, Michael could compare the neglected habitat of the manor to the rest of Orre's many decaying places. The dead leaves that blew in from the trees and the thundering clouds above truly made it feel like the end of the world was coming. The overgrown vines that sprouted from the ground tangled the broken walls of the neglected ancient yard. Michael chuckled at the grim symbolism he thought of that implies Dr. Kaminko's courtyard is what the future looks like for Orre if things don't start changing soon.

They proceeded to the entrance of the ominous manor. Michael stood at the door and pressed the doorbell's button. Jovi stood behind him and kept a look out for anything that could still be stirring in the brambles outside of the courtyard. Without a response, the red headed teen pressed the doorbell button again. Jovi then saw something approaching from the gate of the courtyard.

"Huh…. Uh big brother what is that?", asked the blue haired girl tugging on her brother's Snag Machine's cable running down his arm.

"What is what?", he asked when he turned in response to see.

From a distance, approaching from the gate was a person that Jovi could immediately recognize with his big swirling glasses over his eyes. Jovi was about to shout out a greeting before the door swung open behind her and her older brother. They both turned to see Chobin holding the door open urging them both to come inside the house in a hurry.

"Get in! Get in quick! QUICK!", The inventor's aide quickly said to them trying not to let his swirling glasses slip off of his face.

"What?! But isn't that…", Michael asked before being pulled into the home with his sister.

The blue haired aide slammed the door and locked it. Through the window on the door, Michael and Jovi could see what they thought was Chobin was most definitely not Chobin. It stood in front of the Groudon fountain looking at the window with its mechanical arms folded in its laboratory coat and gears protruding out the sides of its head resembling ears. It stared with its slightly yellow glowing eyes behind its large swirling glasses. Besides its robotic features, it almost entirely resembles Chobin if it were not observed carefully by the eye of the beholder. The real Chobin inside the manor pulled down the blinds on the door's window and faced the two siblings who were staring at him with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Um Chobin. What was that?!", Michael asked with a great concern over the creation

"Our security system. Robo Chobin! The first Robo Trainer in existence by Dr. Kaminko! The greatest inventor in the world!", Chobin proclaimed with a proud smile.

"Oh…. Well do I have some bad news for you.", Michael replied referencing to his former mutual friend in the Kalos region.

"Why are you hiding from it? Isn't it yours?", Jovi asked with obvious concern over the artificial intelligence patrolling outside.

Chobin rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Quickly nullifying the aura he emitted with his proud stance he had a few seconds ago. The blue haired laboratory coated boy motioned the siblings to follow him into the manner in front of the large machine in the foyer room with the giant screen television mounted on the wall. Michael was familiar with the giant television set as it was his primary source of entertainment a long time ago for learning about the failed harmful inventions Kaminko has made that Chobin deemed genius.

"Chobin requests that you both watch this to inform yourself of our situation.", Chobin said referring to himself in third person as was his personality.

He pressed a button on the wall and the screen immediately displayed a close up of his face as he was holding the camera. The recorded video was not long ago it seemed as revealed on the screen beside Chobin was the same metal Chobin Bot that nearly caught the two outside.

"Dr. Kaminko's Inventions are number one in the world! Which is why a burglar just broke into our manor last night to steal his designs! Chobin is furious!", Chobin expressed his frustration with a frown on the screen.

The siblings were surprised to find out that the manor had just been robbed. They kept their thoughts silent however as they continued watching the tape.

"However! Before they took the designs we had already finished our first prototype! Behold, The first Robo Trainer in the world! Chobin Bot! An automaton programmed with knowledge on how to command its own Pokémon! And with the programming Chobin input into its computer, he will patrol our abode and make it so that burglars will never visit us again! Chobin will equip him with his own Pokémon to fight the malicious strangers and keep our home safe as Dr. Kaminko and Chobin will quickly rebuild what has been stolen. Chobin thinks it will definitely keep us safe from now on."

The video ending with Chobin showing Chobin Bot to the screen. Its metallic expressionless face had only two large swirling glasses identical to Chobin's glasses with a yellow glow through them originating from its eyes. It raised a mechanical gear meshing arm to wave at the camera silently before the end of the recording.

Jovi was a little speechless, but Michael smirked from the amusement he found in this situation. The usual cycle of inventing an invention with Dr. Kaminko is to realize its faults and characteristics that deem it useless. Unless advised upon by Michael, every invention they've made besides the Robo Groudon and Robo Kyogre mechs were virtually useless or did more harm than good.

"So you built Chobin Bot to keep out burglars? And apparently one broke in last night?", Jovi asked to make sure she understood the situation.

"That is correct. But Chobin Bot does his job too well! We cannot leave our own home without having him attack us!", the swirling glasses wearing boy further explained.

"With your own Pokémon? It attacks you with the Pokémon you gave it?", Michael asked wondering the logic behind Chobin and Kaminko's incompetence to control what they have made.

"They're trained to follow Chobin Bot's orders no matter what. Chobin can't tell them off because they are told to obey Chobin Bot even if Chobin tells them not to.", Chobin finished his explanation as he continued rubbing the back of his head in his shame.

Michael didn't find that final explanation very amusing at all. He looked down on Chobin for not being able to control his own Pokémon just to arm his robot with the power to drive away unwanted guests. But remembering that it is Chobin and Dr. Kaminko he's dealing with, it shouldn't surprise him as much as it did four years ago when he had to solve the mystery of the mute Pokémon epidemic caused by one of their inventions.

"So what brings you and your sister to our laboratory? Are you going to invent something new with Dr. Kaminko and Chobin's assistance again? Has that holographic animatronic helped gain the attention you wanted?", Chobin asked referring to the metal skeleton sitting in the corner of Michael's hidden workshop in the bunker back home.

"If you bothered to watch the news on the ONBS network, you'd know that our 'mutual friend' in Kalos stole its design and made the world's first Robo Trainer with customizable holographic skin. So yes, it got the attention it deserved but no, we didn't get the credit", Said the red headed teen in a melancholy tone.

Chobin was dumbfounded at what he had heard. Their work and efforts continuously left unknown to the rest of the world. So much time designing and developing prototypes and tests only to have it all stolen by a selfish brat across the world in a populated and popular region as Kalos. Michael quickly changed the subject.

"Whatever. That's not important right now. Right now I need a new internal battery for my Snag Machine. That's why we're here.", he stated.

"Oh… well we have batteries in my room to Chobin's left here. You can find it on the shelf by the discarded prototypes for miniature Robo Pokémon on the table.", Chobin directed pointing at the door to their right.

"I'll go get it! I'll be back in a jiffy.", Jovi exclaimed before running through the opening automatic door to Chobin's quarters, leaving Michael and Chobin alone in the foyer.

In a moment, Michael decided to ask Chobin about what Pokémon he has given to his patrolling metallic replica outside. He answered saying that Chobin Bot has his Gyarados and Tropius for use in double battles. Those are the only two Pokémon it possesses to fend off intruders. Upon hearing this information, Michael scoffed at how easily he could probably solve this problem, but then he thought about his sister. Maybe he could let his sister battle the Chobin Bot with his supervision. It would be like a Battle SIM training session but in reality instead of virtual reality. He nodded to the notion of teaching his sister how to battle in the real world against real threats just as he did so long ago. It would be fun to see his sister try to battle anyway with her Pokémon including the strange Litwick she had received last night from the magician's show in the Krabby Club.

"Back! Here it is!", the blue haired younger sister announced upon her return to the foyer room with a circular dense metallic object in the palm of her left hand.

"Great! I'll fix up the Snag Machine later. But now I think we should see about taking care of that metal menace outside.", Michael replied after receiving the internal battery from his sister and putting it in his Key Items Pocket.

"Ooh? Are you going to take care of Chobin Bot?", Jovi asked anxious to see her brother battle again.

"Nope! I think it's time you try your first Pokémon battle outside of the Battle SIM today! "

"What?", Jovi responded to her older brother as if he was talking nonsense.

"Everyone's gotta start somewhere! When I had my first battle it was against a high ranking Cipher Peon and look where I am now. If you're going to be a Pokémon trainer and go off in your own adventure you must take the first step. But don't worry little sis, I'll be by your side this first battle in case you need my help or guidance.", Michael said to his little sister with an assuring smile on his face.

"Oooh…. Um alright okay uh….. Well…. Let's see how this goes then heheh… heh…", Jovi expressed her uneasy reaction to her first imminent Pokémon battle.

"Chobin wishes to observe this battle! As soon as you beat Chobin Bot, Chobin will bring Chobin Bot back into the shop and reprogram it to recognize friendly people from there on out.", Chobin said before proceeding to walk towards the front door and wait beside it for the siblings to proceed.

"Let's roll.", said the red headed teen as the party proceeded out the door on to the courtyard of the manor.

Michael and Jovi stood beside the fountain and kept their eyes peeled for the wandering automaton beyond the walls of the courtyard. Chobin also watched for his metal duplicate as he stood at the steps of the manor. Jovi watched the front gate and beheld her first challenger revealing itself from outside the brick walls of the courtyard.

"There he is!", Jovi said to her brother in both excitement and fear for her first battle soon to unfold.

"Ah! Okay now just don't worry. Approach it and send out your Pokémon when it starts sending out its own. I'll let you take care of things from there unless you need my help. I'll stay nearby and watch.", Michael told his sister as they approached the hostile Robo Trainer around the fountain.

"Eeeehhhh I'd like it if you could stay close big brother. I think I'd be much more comfortable and good gosh he looks creepy!", Jovi exclaimed when she gazed her eyes on Chobin Bot approaching with eyes glowing yellow behind its swirling glasses and expressionless features.

"HALT! BURGLARS! INTRUDERS! COMMENCING ANTI BURGLAR PROTOCAL!", Chobin Bot shouted in a metallic raspy voice from its voice box in its metal bowtie over its steel plated sheets resembling Chobin's threads.

Jovi was a little terrified of her challenger's presence, but she took comfort in the presence of her older brother standing beside instead of standing aside her at her request. She kept calm and called her Plusle and Minun out of their Poke Balls. In response, Chobin Bot sent out his Gyarados and Tropius out of the small hand canon in its gear meshing metallic right arm.

The two little electric type Pokémon materialized on the ground and were happy to be called upon by their trainer until they felt the vibration and aggressive presence of the Gyarados and Tropius of the Robo Trainer opposing them. The giant Atrocious Pokémon bellowed as the Fruit Pokémon silently gazed at the two Cheering Pokémon readying themselves for battle.

"Uh what now?! Michael?!", Jovi called for his assistance.

"Order your Pokémon to use a move on them! Just like in the Battle SIMs. I suggest you definitely hit the Gyarados with electric attacks.", Michael advised as he stood by her side.

"Oh. Uh Alright uh…"

Before Jovi could issue and order, Chobin Bot had his Pokémon attack first. The Gyarados used Dragon Rage on Plusle, leaving her near fainting and the Tropius using Fly to fly into the sky for an aerial attack. Pluplu barely held on as Mimi turned toward its trainer for their orders.

"Thundershock on the Gyarados! Both of you!", Jovi shouted at them.

Mustering up the power in their cheeks, the two little electric types focused their electric attacks on the Flying and Water type Pokémon; dealing cataclysmic damage for the type matchup. Although the Gyarados did not faint, it was left with Paralysis and ready to faint to another attack. The Chobin Bot was not at all pleased with this situation and issued an order to its Tropius.

"FINISH THE PLUSLE AND USE MAGICAL LEAF ON THE BURGLAR!"

The Grass and Flying type Pokémon dropped itself on the red little electric type and knocked it out. The Tropius faced Jovi and swayed the leaves on its back to release a flurry of sharp homing leaves. She shrieked and cringed in fear before she realized her older brother took the hit for her. Leaving him with a few cuts through his sleeves and scratches across the shoulder plate of his Snag Machine, he endured the hit and stood aside for his sister to continue the battle.

"Michael? Are you okay?", she asked him.

"It's nothing! Hurry up and switch out Pluplu with your Litwick! You also have a type advantage here. Hurry!", Michael urged his sister as he felt around his sleeves for the cuts that might have slightly sliced into his skin.

Jovi quickly switched out her Plusle with the Litwick she caught last night. The little candlestick resembling Pokémon sat on the ground and looked at the Tropius with wonder on what it were to do now at its trainer's command. Jovi was about to order it to attack before she suddenly realized something.

"I don't know its moves! What moves does it know? How do I know?!", Jovi questioned in her panic.

"Calm down! Didn't Seth give you that device to scan new Pokémon? Bring it out and start scanning it for its moves.", Michael instructed as he applied small adhesive bandages to the cuts on his arms.

Without hesitation, Jovi pulled out the handheld foldable device from her own Key Item's Pocket and flipped open the dual-screened device. She turned it on and immediately scanned Litwick to see the moves it had learned. She could see them highlighted in color according to their types.

"Confuse Ray, Will-O-Wisp, Hex, and Flame Burst. I don't know what those last two do but Flame Burst is a Fire Type attack so use Flame Burst on that Tropius, Litwick! Mimi! Use Helping Hand to boost Litwick's attack!", Jovi shouted her orders.

The Candle Pokémon jumped in place to face the Grass and Flying type and quickly spat a ball of fire towards the foe's Pokémon enhanced with the energy of Mimi's Helping Hand. The flaming ball hit the Tropius and exploded into a flurry of flames.

Chobin Bot responded by ordering Tropius to use Body Slam on Mimi, but when Tropius was about to land on the Minun, Jovi switched him out and snuck Litwick in his place with the flame on its candlestick head flaming in a furious purple glow. The Tropius could only fall on its side and faint from the super effective pain with a red burn on its belly. It was forced to be returned to its metallic virtual trainer.

"GYARADOS! USE HYPERBEAM ON THE MINUN!", Chobin Bot commanded as a last ditch effort.

His command was useless as the Gyarados could only twitch in its paralyses. Without a moment to lose, Jovi had her Minun use Spark and her Litwick use Hex on the disabled Pokémon. The combined attacks finished off the already weakened Atrocious Pokémon and forced the robo trainer to return it to its ball in Chobin Bot's left metallic hand.

"BATTLE LOST?! CHOBIN BOT LOST! POWERING Doowwnnn…", he said in his raspy electronic voice before the lights behind its large swirling glasses faded.

It stood idle and immobile for a moment before the wind coming from the dead trees beyond the deteriorating walls knocked over on its face. Jovi didn't know how to react to her victory other than to return her Pokémon that had just grown a level in strength with their new experience. Michael however, knew how he reacted to seeing his sister win her first real battle. The blue haired girl turned to her right to see her brother cheering for her.

"You did it! You won your first battle!", he congratulated, offering her a high five in the air between them.

"I did? ….. heh I guess I did! Heehee! Thanks big bro! Haha!", Jovi replied with a smile and a high five slap to her brother's raised right hand for her first victory.

"That was really smart of you to switch Minun with Litwick like that! I would never have thought of just pulling a little bait and switch tactic like that. Good thinking!", Michael complemented his sister's competence under the pressure of battle.

"Ahah! Thank you! I just thought since Litwick had Flame Body for its ability, I could just force Tropius to burn itself. You might say it was a little weird having myself switch them like that but it was a little weird for it to attack you with those leaves. Are you alright?", she asked concerning over the cuts through Michael's sleeves.

"Ahh it's nothing a few little bandages can't fix. Just couple minor flesh wounds is all…", he said with a chuckle.

The two then turned to the real lab coated boy picking up his metallic unstable replica by the hand. He faced the siblings and announced his embarrassment for such an unstable and incompetent automated defense system. Chobin expressed how sorry he was for the injuries Michael had sustained to his faulty programming.

"It's alright. Just make sure not to make your robot 'too good' at its job next time alright?", Michael suggest with a little sarcastic laugh.

"Right. Chobin will remember to trim the Anti Burglar Protocol when Chobin can. Chobin thanks you all for helping us take care of this problem. Chobin will immediately see to it this invention is reworked in the shop.", Chobin thanked them as he pulled Chobin Bot by his arms and lifted it off the ground over his head.

Before he was about to make his way back to the manor, Michael drew his attention for something that had kept him curious for the purpose of the automated prototype trainer. He proceeded to ask him what exactly the intruders stole last night from their workshop. Chobin shrugged for the answer was quite obvious.

"Our designs for much larger and more completed Robo Trainers of course! If you had payed attention to the monitor inside, you would have known already. Chobin Bot here was the only prototype we made before everything was stolen."

"Okay… I just wanted to be sure. That way if we happen to see it in our investigations today we might help you get it back.", Michael explained while contemplating the reasoning why the thieves would have wanted to steal designs for automated virtual Pokémon trainers.

"That would be very much appreciated. If you can't find them, it's alright. They didn't steal our true project that will surely gain the attention of the world once it takes to the sky! Er uh take the spotlight! Chobin wishes that you take something first before you leave on your quest.", he said before leaving the siblings to wait for him the courtyard.

Michael and Jovi watched Chobin drag Chobin Bot into the manor and later watched him walk out with a retro styled small radio in his hands. Something about it seemed familiar to Michael before he realized it was one of Dr. Kaminko's failed inventions. A rather odd invention named "The Haunted Radio" that would work as a normal radio before three in the morning when the normal broadcast would be interrupted by the faint voice of someone calling for help very briefly before returning to its normal broadcast.

"Why do you want to give us this?", the red headed teen asked with great curiosity.

"It's broken. It doesn't work anymore like a normal radio and the voice at three in the morning hasn't been heard for the last week. Unfortunately Dr. Kaminko doesn't know how to fix it and neither does Chobin. Maybe you could fix it?", Chobin suggested as he offered the retro device to the red headed teen.

As Jovi examined the peculiar device in his hands, Michael slipped it into the Key Items Pocket in his handy black bag strapped around his waist. The device wasn't that heavy despite its appearance.

"I'll see what I can do with it….. Although I'm not sure if any radio stations still operate here in Orre. It might be a lost cause trying to fix this thing back up.", said Michael with a slight tone of regret.

"Well you keep it. It's no longer of use to us now. Chobin must go tend to dissecting Chobin Bot's microchips now so Chobin wishes both of you a good day and thank you for what you've done here.", Chobin stated his goodbyes before disappearing into the manor once again.

The two siblings were left alone once more in the courtyard. Having received what they came here for, they began making their way back to the HQ Lab to power up the Snag Machine again. A soon as they had arrived back in their laboratory home, Michael immediately set himself to work on his Snag Machine back in his underground workshop.


	3. Episode 2 Part 2 of 3

"Alright popping this off… and removing this… and put this here and put that…. Should do it!", Michael spoke to himself as he handled a series of different screwdrivers to put the shoulder plate of his Snag Machine back together.

He slid his left arm back through the Snag Machine's shoulder sleeve and his left hand into its connecting glove. He stood to bask in admiration of his father's work resurrected with his effort. The cable that connected the metal shoulder plate and the gloves' Snag Ball converter pulsated in its blue light. The light emitting off of his Snag Machine made him feel as cool as he did four years ago. A sense of power he had not felt in years imbued within his being as he made a fist with his Snag Machine covered hand, as if he were capable of putting a stop to entire legions of Cipher's forces bent on world domination again.

He turned to see his admiring the revived Snag Machine as she held on to the Poke Ball of her Litwick. Jovi smiled at her brother's accomplishment. It was then Michael couldn't help but imagine how the Snag Machine would look on his sister's left arm. She seemed to have grown about his height four years ago. Whether or not the machine actually fits her left arm is something he might just investigate right now.

"Wanna try it out sis?", he asked with a smile.

"Huh? What?", Jovi responded in her confusion.

"Do you want to try on the Snag Machine before we go set off again? I'm just curious if it would even fit you."

"Me? But why me if you know how to use it better than I do?"

"Oh… well if you don't want to…"

"I didn't say no! Yes please!", Jovi accepted her brother's offer with a smile of anticipation to try on the device that made her brother look impressive.

Michael unequipped his Snag Machine and slid his sister's stretched left arm through the small sleeve of the shoulder plate and into the glove of the Snag Ball converter. He stood back to see Jovi fitting her left hand into the glove and proving that she looked just as impressive with it as he did. She stood in her white dress and blue shorts with the machine mounted on her left arm pulsating with blue light. Michael was awestruck at how well it fit her.

"Wow….. it fits you better! I think…. Wait hold on…", Michael said when he realized he forgot something.

He took off the Aura Reader he had mounted over his left ear. The scanner to identify Shadow Pokémon Auras was then given to his blue haired sister. When she slipped it over her ear and activated the scanner to slide its visor over her left eye. Michael could only smile at how impressive his sister looked with his signature gear people used to recognize him by. His sister looked both cool and cute with the Snag Machine and Aura Reader under her possession.

"Want to wear it in for the rest of the day? I don't mind if you want to keep it on. It looks really good on you!", Michael offered again.

"I'd rather not big brother. If we really do find Shadow Pokémon in Cipher's labs or at any place today I want you to use this rather than me. I don't think I could ever wield it as well as you. But thanks for letting me try it on!", Jovi thanked him with her usual bright smile.

The siblings transferred the Shadow Pokémon liberating equipment back to its original wielder. With Michael ready to continue his quest, Jovi was eager to leave the underground wing to join her brother in his investigations. The red headed teen made sure to drop anything deemed unnecessary for their adventure today including the broken "haunted" radio invention of Dr. Kaminko. Jovi insisted however that she could bring it with her and place it as a decoration at their little club house at Acri's abandoned house in Gateon Port if they decide to travel to the port town today. Michael allowed his sister to take it with her as he knew they'll have to investigate the sailor's strange Slaking he had won from the suspicious Kanto born salesman.

The two siblings debated on which location they should travel to first to investigate. They had three options to choose from: Gateon Port, the Cipher Key Lab in the east past Eclo Canyon, or Cipher's abandoned laboratory in the middle of the desert. Michael wanted to investigate the sailor's Slaking in Gateon Port to see if he could Snag the first potential Shadow Pokémon he has seen in four years since his completed purification quest. But remembering how his sister was on the verge of potentially becoming a trainer like him, he left the decision to her just to give her the feeling of choosing her own paths on her adventure.

"Let's go to the desert laboratory first! I sorta know the layout since the day you rescued Krane from that place. I remember what he told me back then and I think I really want to see it for myself!", Jovi said to Michael with cheery excitement.

"Fine! Let's start there then. Be ready though as the drive there is far longer than going to Gateon Port or Kaminko's Manor…", Michael warned before he proceeded to follow his sister out the secret bunker and through the automatic sliding glass doors of the HQ Lab.

Following their usual routine of mounting their separate hover cycles, they proceeded to traverse across the silent forest and into Orre's vast desert. They drove near each other to keep the dust kicked up by their hover cycle's propulsion through the sand off of their faces. Jovi had to rely on her older brother to lead the way as she would be very easily lost in the unfamiliar desert of Orre. Passing by hoodoos and rocks scattered across the dry earth, Jovi tried not to gaze upon the natural features of the scenic empty desert as she focused on keeping up with Michael on her hover cycle.

She turned to see Michael waving his hand at her and pointing forwards in the direction they're heading. Over the horizon was the silhouettes of a flat, rusted, and abandoned facility surrounded by four laser fence posts that have been decomposing in the sand for the longest time. Jovi felt her heart race with excitement to explore the laboratory with her brother for the possible signs of Shadow Pokémon returning to Orre.

Now approaching the abandoned desert laboratory of the deceased syndicate, Michael lead the party of two to the southern side of the abandoned facility where the truck that Cipher used to kidnap Krane still remained apparently. Michael was amazed to see that the truck he thought was the same truck he saw in the desert yesterday remained at the laboratory's grounds as if it were untouched for four years.

When Michael parked his cycle by the vehicle he found that its condition was not at all like the condition of the truck he found yesterday in the desert on his way back from Pyrite Town. This familiar hover truck was rusted and weathered by its exposure to the elements over the years. He slipped off his desert goggles to examine the truck up close with his own eyes. The vehicle resembled the truck he had seen but it was not at all in the same condition for what he saw was a hover truck that seemed to be factory new without rust and dust.

"Wow Jovi! This was the truck I told you about last night. But it's… not?", Michael said to her as he peered through the window of the driver's seat to see the rotting torn seat cushions inside.

"Really? How strange!", Jovi exclaimed as she approached to park her hover cycle by her brother's.

Jovi immediately dismounted her cycle and joined Michael in examining the truck that was used by Cipher to kidnap Professor Krane four years ago. The siblings could see the obvious aged condition of the truck but they noticed its cargo hold was not smashed open by Michael's Hitmonchan as he described yesterday. Michael thought about what he had saw inside the cargo hold of the truck yesterday but he couldn't describe it with the brief vision he had of it before it knocked him out.

"I wonder if the same thing is in this truck…", Michael said to himself with curiosity.

"Huh? Oh you mean that thing you found yesterday in the back of a truck like this?", Jovi asked her brother upon approaching the rear of the immobile hover truck.

"It must be the same truck though…. I have never seen any other….. Well… l I guess there could be multiple. How did Cipher transfer all of those Pokémon from the S.S. Libra after all? I guess that could answer that question but that still leaves us with the question…. Who's responsible for the truck I found yesterday?", Michael said talking to himself again before realizing he had kept his sister waiting for him to help her lift open the rear cargo door of the vehicle.

With their combined strength without the assistance of a Pokémon, they both lifted the door open and beheld nothing but the space Professor Krane was once captive in. The stink of metallic rust assaulted both of their nostrils and made the two siblings cringe in disgust as they held their noses. They both escaped the fumes while holding their noses and trying not to gag from the apparent stench.

"Eaugh! Yuck! That's stinks!", Jovi exclaimed keeping her distance from the truck.

"No kidding! It's been left untouched for years but what could possibly have rotted in there so much that it stinks so bad?", asked the older brother before quickly peering into the back of the truck to see the source in the corner of the empty space.

Apparently it was a rotting unrecognizable berry covered with mold sitting in the corner. Who knows how long it's been sitting there and who left it. Michael theorized that it could have been something to feed Professor Krane when he was captive and waiting inside the truck for a period of time. He'd have to ask him later when they return to the HQ Lab. For now, he followed his anxious sister to the rusted front gate of the abandoned laboratory to begin their investigation.

"Big brother, do you think this thing is locked?", Jovi asked when she stood in front of the rusted metal automatic gate that was supposed to open upon sensing a person's presence.

"Let me see….", he replied before he stood beside her and waved his arms about in front of the door.

After the yellow vested teen's attempt to activate the automatic sensors proved to be futile, Michael realized that the door might be jammed from its lack of maintenance for the longest time. He tried to slide it open in the way he could remember. Much to his surprise, he was able to slide it open with his own bear hands with his sheer strength. Jovi watched her brother begin to slip himself between the edge of the opening metallic door and the metal threshold of entrance. Michael turned to his sister as he push the door open to let her through.

"Not bad ey? I'm stronger than I thought.", he gloated with a grin.

"Doesn't look like anybody's home...", Jovi observed from where she stood looking into the first dark room.

"All the better! Let's go in and see if we can prove your theory shall we?", replied the spiky red headed teen.

Jovi stepped through the open metal door and Michael followed his marine blue eyed sister into the facility before the door suddenly slammed shut behind them. The loud clang and echo throughout the darkness frightened them both with Jovi suddenly clinging on to her brother with her arms out of fear of the sudden loud noise.

"What was that?!", Jovi shouted.

"I-It just closed on itself? I guess?"

"Is this place haunted, Michael? You never told me this place is haunted!"

"Oh don't be ridiculous. You and I both know only Ghost Pokémon exist and not even half of them are as scary as they are just weird. And besides it's probably just the spring lock on the door or some functioning mechanism… even though everything seems unpowered and neglected in here…"

The first room they were in was pitch-black without power. The only thing providing light in the room was the blue light of Michael's Snag Machine. Jovi stood by her brother's illuminating light as she waited for her eyes to adjust within the cold dark room.

"It's so dark in here! Is there a light switch?", Jovi asked as she stayed by her brother's side.

" I don't know. I haven't been here in such a long time….", Michael stated as he stepped forward with the guidance of his Snag Machine's light.

"The power is probably out… but I bet there could be a backup generator sitting around somewhere. If I remember correctly there's a security office right here I think… we might find something there?"

The red headed teen felt his way around the metal wall of the first floor to find the automatic door for the security office that is also unpowered. Michael tried to direct the glow of his Snag Machine on to the foot of the door to see if he could possibly lift it even a little. Unfortunately it is not as well-worn as the other and was rendered immobile by the power outage.

"This door has no power. We can't get into the office or even into the actual laboratory underground through the elevator if there is no power."

"Couldn't we just break it down or something?", Jovi suggested as she gazed upon the metal door in the blue glowing light beside her brother.

"Oh? Uh yeah maybe we can…. maybe Hitmonchan can help me here again. You might want to stand back a little, Jovi.", Michael advised before pulling out Hitmonchan's Poke Ball to send out for its assistance.

Materializing from the light released from the Poke Ball, Hitmonchan stood with its fists ready and listened to his trainer's order. With a swing of his right fist, he used Brick Break to break through the metallic door. A loud crash of twisted and splintering shards of metal clanged and echoed within the instillation when the door was forcefully opened by the Fighting Type. Michael returned the Pokémon to its capsule and slipped it back into his black waist bag before proceeding forward into the security office with the guidance of his light.

Jovi followed her older brother through the smashed automatic door and beheld a variety of complex and confusing consoles that also seem unpowered. She couldn't tell what they were for but Michael knew very well what it was for. He explained to her that this is where the vision of the lab's security cameras would be displayed on monitors over the consoles to the guarding Cipher officer in charge of ensuring the security of the facility. However that is only speculation on his part as when he came to rescue Professor Krane nobody was in the room in the first place, thinking this laboratory probably was deserted to begin with.

"Who knows what this place was like nine years ago when those two…. Wes and Rui I think were their names? As far as I know from what Eagun told me… When they came and kicked Cipher out of their own facility. I wonder where those two are now…."

"Well, I wonder if there really is a power generator in here or something… Maybe this is it?", Jovi exclaimed before proceeding to press something in the shape of a button on the wall.

When Michael turned towards his sister to see her pressing a random obscure on the wall he had no time to react when the facility's power suddenly returned with the whirring of machines and sudden illumination of the darkness. Power has been restored to the top level of the facility with the security monitors displaying the video footage of the security cameras placed inside and outside the facility. The red headed teen was dumbfounded at how his sister just fixed their problem at the press of a random button.

"H-How'd you do that?!", asked the older brother with astonishment.

"I-I don't know! I just saw this button that read 'Emergency Back Up Power' and pressed it. Did I do good?", she responded as she was just as shocked to see the dramatic change in lighting within the room.

"Pffff Haha! Yeah you did good! Good job Jovi! Just give me a heads up before you do something like that. Or if you see anything interesting at all.", Michael advised again with a smile towards his sister.

Jovi giggled with a slight blush for her accomplishment. Michael continued to chuckle a little before he realized that the security cameras of the facility were putting their visuals on display on the monitors and holographic consoles. On the wall were four working monitors. One monitor showed the lot outside where the band of colorful peons called the "Hexagon Brothers" used to line up and idle four years ago during the last incident. The other monitors appeared to be displaying specific locations in the laboratory.

One seemed to display the hallway just beyond the first elevator down; empty and lit with the light of the repowered lights. Another showed a semi-lit laboratory with barely visible tanks that were used to manufacture the earliest smaller variants of Shadow Pokémon. The last one showed a pitch black room with very little visible detail besides what appears to be a small volume of light pouring from a dimly lit glass door.

"It says here Sector 2, 3, and 4 are without power. But the elevator down to the first basement floor is working now.", Michael stated as he examined the monitors on the consoles.

"Do you think it's safe to ride down?", asked Jovi with a little concern with the aged unused elevator.

"I'll ride it down first if you'd like. And you can come in after me if it comes back up to you.", Michael suggested as he proceeded to approach the broken automatic door.

As soon as he approached it however, the door tried to slide into the floor only to stop itself with the curved splinted metal interrupting its opening attempt. A sudden loud screeching metallic noise was heard coming from the door's mechanism that startled the siblings before it stopped with a loud bang. The mechanism seems to have broken itself in its attempt to open for the two. The two approached it and gazed at the motionless door that has appeared to have stopped its function.

"Looks like it gave up the ghost?", Michael observed.

"Aww…. Well hopefully we won't have to break more things in here.", Jovi said hoping for a less destructive course of action in the future.

After their very brief moment of silence for the door, they exited the security office and moved forward through the working automatic door to the elevator waiting room ahead that was the only way to the main laboratory halls below. Standing before the sliding glass door to the elevator tube, the siblings looked at each other to confirm how they'll go about proceeding through the possibly unreliable elevator.

"I'll go first. You'll know it's safe when I send it back up to you. Okay?", Michael said to his sister before proceeding into the cylindrical elevator through the sliding glass doors.

Jovi stood watching her brother enter the elevator and stand facing her with a small smirk and a wave as the glass started to close around him. She hesitantly looked at her surroundings and felt nervous about the idea of being left alone without her brother in the eerie abandoned facility. Even if it was just the first floor with the functional exit not too far from the elevator room, Jovi wouldn't want to be left behind without her brother to protect her against anything she couldn't handle alone.

The blue haired girl rushed into the elevator to accompany her brother just before the glass closed much to Michael's surprise. The glass closed around the two and the elevator slid downward into the earth towards the first basement level. They both watched the elevator leave the floor behind is it descended into the dark with the blue light of Michael's Snag Machine illuminating the confined space. In just a moment, the elevator arrived at the lit lobby of the first basement floor.

With Jovi walking out first, they both stepped out of the elevator and felt a sudden eerie chill from the abandoned metallic environment filled with machinery meant for a sinister purpose. Michael felt a wave of certain nostalgia upon entering the battlefield of where he first fought with Lovrina when he was just about to escape with Professor Krane. He noticed a small cracked hole on the metal wall to his right that was left as a memoire of the event when his Umbreon was knocked around by Shadow Delcatty's harsh attacks.

"Ah memories… hahah ah… heh….", Michael's chuckle quickly faded as it dawned on him how much he missed the good old days.

"Where do we start? Want to lead the way?", asked the blue haired sister to the red spiky haired brother.

Michael walked forward and observed the three optional paths ahead of them. To his left was the hall to the elevator leading to the archive room, but its dim flickering lights seem to suggest it's only partially powered. Finding the rest of the back-up power generators and turning them on in their unlit sectors might allow the use of the elevator later.

He looked through the glass door located opposite of where the elevator dropped them. The very next room ahead is dark, but he remembers what the purpose of this particular room is. It's the conference room with a hallway leading to an elevator down to the next floor into a different section of the laboratory along with a room for cooling tanks. Down the elevator they would enter a hallway to another elevator room and the processing room where Shadow Pokémon would have been developed in tanks. The path also leads to the room with one elevator that would take them to a hallway that would lead them to the machine room and another that leads to a safe room with a healing machine and DNA analyzing lab equipment.

The third option to his right was the path to the elevator down to the laboratory space where Lovrina presumably experimented in creating new Shadow Pokémon moves through meticulous and tedious amounts of time splicing Shadow Pokémon DNA. It seemed to be the best well-lit path in their list of options. Going through there might be the more optimal choice right now.

"How about we go this way?", Michael suggested to his sister.

"That way? Is that the way where you rescued Professor Krane?", Jovi asked in response with curiosity as she approached the lit hallway.

"As a matter of fact, yes! At the very last room you'll find where they kept Professor Krane hostage to get him to tell share his research on Purification. Thankfully they didn't hurt him by the time I arrived."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go see if there's any mad scientist secrets ahead!", Jovi said marching forward with a smile into the well-lit hallway.

Michael followed closely behind his sister through the white metal hallway. The teen made sure to listen for anything out of the ordinary within the facility as he explored with his sister. Thinking back to what he had mentioned earlier, Michael often wondered where the first heroes of Orre disappeared to nine years ago. Wes and Rui are two mysterious characters he had only dreamed of meeting someday. He could imagine why they'd want to leave Orre though as Wild Pokémon still wouldn't populate the region. If they were a couple they would probably have wanted to go to more beautiful regions together anyway. In the nine years they've been gone however, they had never bothered to return to Orre as far as Michael knows.

"Hopefully they're having a better time than us…..", the red headed teen muttered to himself over his thoughts.

"What was that?", Jovi asked her brother as they approached another elevator room.

"What? Oh! Nothing! Just me contemplating…. Life…. As usual, you know.", he fibbed.

"Oh. Heh uh…. I guess we ride this down too?", Jovi asked as they approached another cylindrical glass elevator.

Its automatic doors opened as soon as Michael approached it. He stepped in first and insisted that it was probably safe enough to ride down with the power restored to this section of the facility. Trusting his word, the blue haired sister joined her red haired older brother in the elevator and waited for its function to proceed.

With another descent into the darkness, they came out of the elevator into a pitch black laboratory room. Only the light of Michael's Snag Machine provided vision to the two as they entered the metal room. Jovi made sure not to wander far from her brother's light as she explored the area with him.

"Can you see anything of interest?", questioned Michael as he tried to identify his surroundings.

"Some sciency machines and microscopes… No big red buttons yet.", Jovi responded as she returned to her brother's side to adjust her eyes to the minimal light in the room.

"I think this room is too big to explore with just my light…. I have an idea.", the red headed teen proclaimed before calling out his Umbreon out of its Poke Ball.

The Moonlight Pokémon materialized and stood looking up at his trainer with its big red eyes and glowing yellow rings on its dark body. The rings provided more illumination within the room and made it far easier to see in the dark. The siblings were delighted to see the Umbereon's assist in their vision.

"Good thinking! Maybe I can send out a Pokémon too… but which?", Jovi said reviewing her three options.

"How about the one that literally resembles a candle stick?", Michael suggested in a friendly sarcastic manner.

"Oh really? Don't you think Mimi or Pluplu could help us here? Hahah.", said Jovi with small sarcastic laugh before calling out her Litwick.

The Ghost and Fire type Pokémon plopped itself onto the metal floor and took a quick glance at its dark surroundings being illuminated by Michael's Snag Machine and Umbreon's glowing rings. The purple flame on its head grew bright and provided the party a clear view of the laboratory in a bright purple glow. The siblings were amazed to see how they much they could see clearly now that the darkness was severely reduced by the ghostly purple light.

"Wow! Now that's more like it!", Jovi exclaimed as she stepped around the room looking at things.

Michael examined the four tables in the room with his Umbreon patiently waiting beside his feet. He peered through the scope of one of the untouched microscopes. He couldn't see anything at first, but he pressed the "ON" button on its side and saw what appeared to be a sample of some sort under the new light. He could see what appeared to be a skin cell that might have belonged to a Pokémon at one time. It was red and purple shaded tissue pressed under the small glass pane.

"Wonder what Shadow Pokémon they made out of this…..", he asked himself before turning to face his sister who just found a set of stairs near the far side of the lab to the same room Professor Krane was kept hostage in.

"Hey big brother! I think the next generator might be up here?", she suggested with her Litwick sitting on top of her head with its light glowing bright.

"Oh! Yeah! Right behind ya!", Michael said joining her exploration of the small metal room ahead with his Umbreon following his trainer.

The darkness of the small room was no match for the bright light of the Litwick on Jovi's head. The siblings were able to clearly see everything in the room that included a table with a DNA scanner on it, a metallic box anchored to the white metal table with a red glowing button in its center, a dead plant in its pot beside the table, unlocked lockers in one corner of the room that seemed to have been left open for a long time, and an open Poke Ball patterned item chest in the corner opposite of where they had come in from through the stairs. Beside it however, was another Poke Ball patterned item chest but in a purple color instead of red, much like the one they found back in Gateon Port just as they were about to leave for home.

"Wow Michael. This was where the Professor was kept? It's so…. Small in here.", she said before approaching the purple item chest in the corner.

"Yep! And a…. wait…..", Michael urged his sister to remain quiet.

With her hand on the button to release the purple item chest's lock, she kept still and silent as they both listened to the unnatural ambiance coming from across the thin eastern of the room wall. Even Litwick and Umbreon were still as they heard the pitter-patter of what sounded like footsteps echoing through the iron floors of the hallway beside the room split by only a foot of thick iron plated wall. Jovi felt her heart race to think there was a ghost roaming the facility in its dark corridors. Michael was speechless with his own heart sinking to think there was something left roaming in the abandoned laboratory even after having been purged of Cipher so long ago. The footsteps suddenly stopped echoing.

"… M-Michael?", Jovi whispered her brother's name.

"Y-Yeah?", he responded.

"Are… we alone here?"

"…. It's probably just crackling noises of electricity. Since we're restoring power to this place after all and with such disrepair there's probably a few screws loose in the system…", he said to reassure his sister.

"Or a ghost in the system…", Jovi said in response.

"Cut that out. I assure you that if there's any ghost of Cipher's personnel here I'll just have to defeat it again! I ain't afraid of no ghost!", Michael exclaimed as he pointed to himself with his right thumb in his attempt to prove his point.

Jovi's worried frown turned into a little smirk at her brother's response. She always felt reassured to know her heroic brother would fend off any danger that would come their way. With his knowledge and experience with Pokémon battles, he could only let Cipher get so far before they fell to the young teenager who fought with belief in his cause to save the Pokémon and fight evil that nearly won without his presence.

"Well alright big bro. Let's keep going with our investigation as if there probably isn't a ghost next door."

"Right... Let's see about restoring the power to this sector now….. Ah this thing. I always wondered what it did when I first came here.", Michael said referring to the metal box with the red glowing button in its center.

He approached it and pressed it. As soon as he did, the sound of machines whirring and the sound of electrical crackling through the walls assaulted their ears. The lights in the ceiling flickered and were turned on to reveal the gray metal floor they stood on and the details of what's in the purple item chest Jovi just popped open.

Jovi had found three Super Potions. She placed them in her pocket that was quickly filling up with the Smoke Ball she had received from the other item chest in Gateon Port. Michael saw what she had found and was amazed to see it resembled the item chest they had seen yesterday.

"I don't remember seeing this when I opened that normal red chest there. Why does it look like the one we saw at Gateon Port's gate?", Michael asked himself.

"I don't know. Do you think someone is actually leaving these here for us?", Jovi suggested a theory.

"Or we just never saw these before until now… Like they were always there but they were overlooked. You know?", Michael offered his theory.

"You mean they were invisible to us until just now?"

"Well, maybe it's just a certain… perspective or something…. The right place in the wrong time?…..", said Michael now running out of words to say on the subject.

Jovi's Litwick hopped off of her head and sat silently on the white metal table as Michael's Umbreon accompanied it and waited patiently in silence as their trainers continued to debate the reasons for the two purple item chests they have seen so far in this little adventure of theirs. Their conversation spanned from the Puppeteer's String Theory where everything is planned by a mastermind to a Theory of Karma where what comes around goes around in one way or another. After their tiresome conversation however, they both decided to agree that it's weird, but convenient to find items to assist them in their mission.

"When I was going about looting item chests four years ago, I never questioned who left them here for me. I just assumed since they never had any warnings or any claim by anyone, what's left inside is always up for grabs by anyone willing to open it…. I'm not sure if that makes sense."

"At this point big bro, I guess I could agree with you that nobody would really care of we went about looting these chests then. Especially since there's very little people left who do care in Orre.", Jovi said agreeing with her brother.

"Exactly. Anyway, let's get a move on now shall we? We still got a lot more of the facility to explore. And the power won't restore itself.", the red headed teen suggested before motioning his Umbreon to come with him down the stairs into the now lit laboratory.

Jovi was about to attach her Litwick to her blue haired head again before her curiosity lead her to investigate the open lockers within the corner of the room. She slowly opened one of the locker doors to see a Cipher Peon uniform hanging inside with its armor still intact but dusty from its many years of being untouched. On the door was a small note stuck on to the metal that read, "It's not my fault they went missing. I swear it wasn't my fault". Above it was a fabricated official certificate claiming the property of this locker belongs to "Skrub" and is not to be handled by anyone else besides "Skrub".

"Huh…. I wonder what this could mean… this reminds me of that one episode of Pokémon Trozei with Lucy Fleetfoot where she discovered a message like this with a hidden meaning. It only took two episodes later to find out what it meant. But gee was that an episode. At least it wasn't so tragic in the Manga…", she spoke with herself as she tucked the curious note by Skrub in her own Key Item's pocket.

She investigated the other lockers, but none of them held anything as interesting as Skrub's note. The few Peon uniforms left in the lockers suddenly caught her attention as she could imagine what Michael would look like in a Peon's suit and armor. The thought was intriguing, but she didn't want to keep her brother waiting as she tried to imagine herself stealing a suit to take with her to Gateon Port for their new club house at Acri's abandoned abode.

On their way back to the center entryway from the first elevator up to the first floor, Jovi showed Michael what she had found in Skrub's locker. It intrigued Michael as he could not recall ever encountering a Peon named Skrub during his adventure. He deducted that it was probably a much older Peon from the first Shadow Pokémon incident nine years ago and that there was some inner conflict during the time. He theorized that "they" referred to a group of people or objects that apparently went missing at the time and Cipher apparently blamed Skrub for the disappearance.

"Do you think that's what happened?", Jovi asked while she returned her Litwick which was now making her neck ache with its weight on her head.

"Could be. I only theorize on the spot whenever I see those sorts of things. Like how I theorized there would be some sort of Global Link in the world today that we could tap into somehow. Which as you know, thanks to Ninjask-Bot we found that connection and allowed me to make the GTS Emulator to connect with your pen pal in Kalos…. Among other people….", Michael answered thinking back to his betrayal by his rival in Kalos.

"Right….. You know, she said he's sorry about it…", Jovi explained referring to what Bonnie said to her early this morning.

"Sorry doesn't cut it. But let's drop that subject. We're back here now.", Michael said as the party stopped at the lobby entrance with the three optional paths.

"It looks like the conference room ahead is now powered. The lights are on and we can go through the sliding glass doors to it now."

"Was that the way you originally went the first time?", Jovi questioned with curiosity.

"Actually no, I went that way because this glass door usually only opens from this side. But that path isn't powered with its elevator and this is the only other way around the entire facility. To get to that point.", said Michael pointing towards the unlit corridor to another cylindrical elevator that has been left unpowered.

"Oh… so how do we get through this glass door then?", questioned the blue haired sister.

"Well…. There are different ways to go about this…. Me being an engineer I can tell you that this door wasn't always locked from this side. It would be impractical for the employees to have to loop around the entire facility through that other path through the archive server room.", Michael explained.

"So obviously there must be some way to reverse this. This was probably some function of a security lockdown protocol, but I think this problem can be solved with a very simple solution that just needs a moment of time and for you to look away while I contemplate how to solve this problem. Understand?", he continued.

"What? Look away?", she asked with uncertainty for her brother's logic.

"Yep! It will be just a moment I swear. I'm going to 'reverse engineer' this…"

"I don't think that's the appropriate use of that phrase…. But alright.", Jovi said before turning her head.

She suddenly heard a loud shattering of glass bits dropping to the metal floor. The blue haired sister turned to see Michael shaking his right hand as if he had hit something very hard with it and it hurt. He turned to his sister and said with a smile.

"Fixed it! Now the lockdown has been disabled and we can proceed. Just step this way carefully now.", he said with a small forced smile.

"Doesn't that hurt?", Jovi asked.

"Doesn't what hurt? What are you talking about?", Michael asked back as he stopped shaking his hand to hide his small pain.

"But you could have just… well nevermind. Heh big brother. Sometimes I think you try too hard to make me laugh.", said the azure sister with little grin as she stepped over the broken glass into the conference room.

Michael laughed a little as he shook off the pain in his right hand before joining his sister in the conference room. Stepping over the broken glass, they advanced into the lit empty room that had a large table surrounded by chairs in the center of the room, a white board in the corner that appeared to have scribbles with black marker all over it, dead plants in their pots, a paper printer and a functional console beside the white board with a holographic screen. Just ahead was the path way into the inner sectors of the facility.

Before they would proceed, the siblings investigated what they could find within the conference room. Michael rediscovered another item chest he had opened four years ago during his adventure while Jovi examined the white board's scribbles. She called her brother over to help her see if they could make any sense of what was left on the board's surface.

"A bunch of numbers…. But this these numbers are circled around like it's important.", Michael observed.

The numbers were 0720. It appeared to be some sort of code or password.

"Maybe this thing has something that could help us?", Jovi said referring to the console beside it.

Michael examined the screen and hit the Enter button to enter its start menu. There were three options in the menu that included accessing the Camera Feed, Private Messaging Accounts, and Reversing the Lockdown Protocol with the glass door Michael just shattered. The red headed teen thought about how convenient it would have been if this were discovered before he had to break through with his bare right hand. He wouldn't want to punch with his left hand for fear of breaking the Snag Machine's integrity with its heavy impact.

"How about you try the Private Messaging accounts? Maybe there's something left behind by Cipher before they disbanded.", Jovi suggested.

Michael clicked on the option to access the Private Messaging Accounts of every Cipher member who worked in this facility. He was brought into a password terminal that requested a four digit password from him. He immediately assumed the obvious and input the four digit number circled on the white board. The system accepted it and granted access to Ein's account.

"Wow! Take a look! It worked! That password is to this person's account here. Someone named Ein who worked here apparently…"

Jovi observed the screen beside her brother as he selected the inbox full of mail dating back nine years ago during the first incident. The inbox had messages from various different people. Venus, Skrub, Nascour, and Miror B. were the first few names listed on the list of messages. Michael was intrigued to see Miror B.'s name in this list and decided to select his message first.

"I think I'm gonna call it quits if this plan fails. These elegant dance steps can't dance with a posse who won't dance with me!", read Miror B.'s message to Ein.

Michael selected Nascour's message and read it on the screen.

"Do not let Wes access the Shadow Pokémon data. Wipe out everything and evacuate if worse comes to worse."

Skrub's message was selected. For some reason, most of its text was scrambled with ineligibility with Ein's response written below.

"I told you Skrub. If you come to me claiming you see a ghost popping in and out of existence taking lab equipment one more time you will be punished with reduced rations and a cut of your pay. It's bad enough crucial devices are missing from their places. We don't need to hear such nonsense and you're already nearing expulsion with your repeated past failures."

"Interesting….", Michael said to himself.

"So… Skrub thinks there's ghosts stealing lab equipment?", the azure sister queried.

"Apparently?... Maybe this place really is haunted? ….. nah it's probably just a loose Pokémon or…. Some sort of espionage? But who would….. huh….", Michael reacted stumped by his questions to his own answers.

"Click on Venus' message!", she suggested to her brother as her curiosity intensified.

Michael did just that. He read aloud what has been sent to Ein before noticing the attached picture file. It seemed to be a rather urgent message.

"Ein. If you bothered to listen to your colleagues, you could have discovered something that would surely have won us over those two brats. It's too late now, but don't you dare forget this. It may still be useful to us in the future."

Michael opened the image and viewed picture of an old fashioned silver Cipher Peon with a blue scarf around his neck fighting something in the middle of the Orre desert at night. The Peon had his Golem facing the entity hidden within the dark. The image could only show what appeared to be the creature's red glowing eyes in a dark mist that kept it invisible. The light of the camera man who took this picture seemed to have created an accidental lens flare off of the Peon's visor screen on his helmet; accidentally creating flashing halos in the dark image.

"Oooohhh…. What is that?", Jovi asked a little fascinated and unsettled by the spooky picture.

Michael looked at the Peon's adversary. Its eyes could only remind him of his dream the magician in Gateon Port had accidentally given him yesterday with his hypnosis.

"It looks like it could be a Shadow Pokémon? That mist might be the move 'Shadow Mist' as the Shadow Pokémon I rescued knew…. But wait a minute. Lovrina made that move along with a bunch of other Shadow Moves besides the already existing 'Shadow Rush' in the most recent incident four years ago…. She couldn't have been with Cipher nine years ago could she? She was only seventeen years old four years ago…. I think…. Which means…. Seventeen minus five…. She could only have been twelve during the first Shadow Pokémon Crisis! Who's that Pokémon? If it even is a Pokémon?!", he exclaimed with the greatest curiosity he has never had since he had started his adventure.

"Do you think this leads to Neo Evolution?", the sister questioned.

"Maybe? I don't know. I suppose that could be a Neo Evolved Shadow Pokémon. I can't say for sure. The only Shadow Pokémon I knew that had such bright glowing red eyes was Shadow Lugia because his heart was virtually slammed shut with locks. He was spliced into being an incredibly destructive war machine meant to be immune to purification. His entire appearance changed because of the drastic process it underwent. Whether that is a Pokémon that went through the same process as Lugia I don't know, we'd have to look for more clues."

"Where do you think we could find clues in this place?", Jovi asked anticipating his response to further their investigation.

"The Archive Server room down the elevator back there. I'm willing to bet that if we can access the archives, we'll find out what this picture is about and see if it has anything to do with Neo Evolution or Shadow Pokémon. But first we'll either need to find the last two generators or loop around in on the floors below. We'll probably just loop around and enter it without the elevator because it wouldn't be too far from it when we get there. Understand?"

The younger sister nodded. The anticipation to delve further into the darkness to find the answers to their questions made her heart race as this was her first time truly on an adventure with her heroic brother. Although she is still rather afraid of the dark and its unknown dangers, she could always inspire herself with courage knowing her brother is beside her and her Pokémon are ready to protect her in battle. The Chobin Bot Battle she won earlier today would not have turned in her favor if she didn't have her brother to guide her.

"Let's roll.", Michael instructed before marching forward into the metal hallway past the conference room.

Jovi kept close as they arrived at another cylindrical elevator. They both took the elevator down to the next floor where the lights were irregularly turning on and off with the partial electricity restored to the sector. Every time the lights were turned off, Michael's Snag Machine light would briefly illuminate the darkness before the lights would return to lighting the entire sector again before going out again periodically. To their right upon exiting the elevator was a glass doorway into another laboratory built for obscure reasons. It was presumably made to scan which Pokémon DNA Cipher had planned to make Shadow Pokémon off of.

The sibling pair approached the glass automatic sliding door that suddenly stopped midway in opening as the power would repeatedly turn off and on. They immediately saw that when the power was off, the glass door would begin closing on itself slowly before the power would briefly return to slide the door open even further.

"We might have to rush through this as soon as it's wide enough before it turns itself off again. I'll go first.", Michael said before stepping through the doorway as the lights were turned on.

Jovi hesitated for a moment while the lights were flickering. The doors seemed still and wide enough for her to walk though. She rushed through the doors as fast as he could but she suddenly felt her right foot caught between the sliding doors.

"Ah! My foot!", Jovi shrieked as she hopped on her one free foot.

"Just wait a moment.", Michael suggested as he held his sister's hand to keep her from falling.

After a second, Jovi's foot was freed when the glass doors were repowered with the surge of power returning to the mechanism before flickering off again. She held her brother's hand as he lead her through the next automatic glass door into the laboratory just ahead.

Without the need of illumination with the inconsistent bursts of light in the room, the two scanned the area. As the red headed teen re-explored what he had already seen through the irregular lighting, he tripped over a jumbled pile of wires and protruding from the floor's tiles. When he sat up from where he fell on the floor he could see that it looked like a machine had been ripped off of the floor from where the wires protruded through the metal floor.

"Huh? It looks like something's missing here….", he observed as he picked himself up off the floor.

"What is?," his sister questioned in response as she joined her brother in investigating the missing appliances under the flickering lights.

"It looks like someone just came in here and removed some equipment attached to this room. Look, there are more holes loose wires on the floor over there! And here…", Michael answered with his new discoveries.

Jovi would go to examine the spaces where equipment seemed to have been torn from their places. The flickering lights and electricity crackling in the gap repelled her. She covered her eyes to keep them from being irritated by the irregular blinking lights.

"Agh this place. These lights aren't helping me see at all. It actually hurts a little…."

The sound of a rusted iron switch was suddenly heard. The lights suddenly remained on and the power was restored to this sector of the facility. Jovi opened her eyes in the clear light to see her brother had already found the button for the third backup generator on the wall. She snickered at how fast he was able to find the button.

"Wow you're quick big brother. Did you just slam your hand on the nearest wall hoping you'd hit the one spot on the wall out of every wall in here with the right button as soon as you heard me complain?", the azure sister asked with a chuckle.

"Ehhhhh... Nah. But anyway, take a look at all of this!", Michael said directing her attention to the spaces in the lab that appeared to have been ripped apart exposing wires underneath the metal floor.

"It looks like someone just came in here and lifted some machines off of the floor, taking some of the floor with him or her….. or it.", he observed walking beside the jumbled wires that occasionally crackled with loose electricity.

"How strange…. Why do you think that is big brother? Do you think someone is trying to revive Shadow Pokémon with these things they stole?", she asked suggesting a plausible theory as she gazed on the wreckage.

Michael was silent as he pondered who it could be that ripped the machines out of this laboratory and for what intent. With so little suspects in Orre to suspect, his only suspicions would rest on the suspicious salesman and Lovrina even if he hates to think Lovrina would return to doing such criminal acts as manufacturing more Shadow Pokémon. He knows it's unlikely, but anyone that was once important could be a suspect at this point. Why would Lovrina return with her brother anyway? And who were they waiting for at the Krabby Club in Gateon Port?

"I should have considered waiting to see who….", Michael thought to himself out loud.

"Beg pardon?", Jovi replied upon hearing his whisper.

"Just wondering, why would Lovrina be invited back here... in Orre….after so long of not having anything to do with this region. Why?", he asked himself as he walked towards the fully functional glass doorway to return to the main hallway again.

"Ah….. oh…. That is weird…. Who would?", Jovi added as she followed her brother through the sliding glass.

The siblings made their way down the hall past a left turn towards another set of glass doors with an elevator room just before it to their right. Michael led the party of two to a fork in their road. Just ahead was a darkened laboratory while to their right were two more cylindrical glass elevators leading to more parts of the laboratory. Michael knew the one nearest to them was the elevator to progress towards the Archive Server room.

"I'd say we're just about done restoring power to this lab. If we could find the last switch in this room ahead we'd have a straight well-lit shot to the archive room and we'll find out what we need to know from the archives. Maybe we'll finally see how Neo Evolution came to be or whatever that Pokémon in the image was.", he explained.

"Then what are we waiting for? Oh wait, is this door locked too? Don't punch the glass please…", Jovi requested after remembering how he handled locked impassable glass doors with his 'engineering tactics".

"What do you mean by that? I totally used my wits to bypass the security lockdown protocol on that door.", the older brother defended himself with a grin.

"Well… just don't hurt yourself okay?", she requested with the small sincere smile of a caring sister.

The red headed teen understood his sister's request for his well-being and accepted it. He promised he wouldn't do something blatantly stupid that would bring pain upon him even if it was only for a brief moment. He faced the glass door to the last unlit laboratory and approached it.

The glass doors opened to their surprise. Both of the siblings raised their eyebrows at the functional doors to an unpowered laboratory.

"Maybe the power of the last generator reaches this far?"

"Could be the case…", said Michael as he lead the party through the sliding automatic glass doors into the unlit metal room.

The darkness of the laboratory was illuminated by a row of blue glowing tanks presumably used to incubate Shadow Pokémon in progress of having their hearts closed back then. In the far corners of the room were machines and consoles blinking with their lights and emitting the sound of their inner mechanisms at work. The entire room seemed to have been powered, but the lights are off for some reason.

"Is this place actually powered?"

"Do you think there's a light switch then?", Jovi suggested as she started patting the metal walls for a switch of any kind.

Michael stepped forward with the guidance of the room's glowing colored lights in the darkness along with his own Snag Machine glow. He stepped around the unused tanks and over the cables attached to them before he suddenly heard a bang in the corner of the room he was approaching that made every red hair on his head stand on end. He jumped back and heard scuffling of a chair and discarded paper before Jovi found the light switch.

"WHAT was that?!", asked the little sister as she came to her brother's side.

The two gazed upon nothing. There was a chair lying on the floor and the cabinet beside it was opened with loose papers strewn and scattered about on the floor. Michael examined the filing cabinet, pulling out the loose paper drawers to see if it was some small Pokémon that had disappeared into hiding. The cabinet was entirely void of life.

"Uhhm uhh must be a blast of air from the ventilation system! Yeah that's it. Probably…. Since we do have this place up and running again after all.", Michael suggested easing his own nerves.

"Wind from vents can make sounds like that? Enough to tip a chair over?", asked the younger sister with great concern.

"Ah forget it Jovi. I promise you that if there's anything besides us in this facility, I won't let them hurt us or get away without interrogation. That is unless it's actually a wild Pokémon, then we'll just have to catch it won't we? Just don't be afraid. Okay? I'm here along with my superb Pokémon to help. Don't worry about it.", he said trying to comfort his worried sister.

Jovi felt conflicted, but she looked at her brother and breathed a sigh of relief knowing how much her brother didn't like seeing her scared or sad. Ever since the day he pranked her when she was very young, he'd never want to see her sad or scared again and often played along with her in her little girl games. Although he didn't favor it, little Michael would sit quietly with his sister at her little toy table enjoying her pretend tea parties just to amuse her as Mimi and Pluplu munched on their Pokémon food at the plastic table once upon a time long ago. He didn't mind drinking the fake tea that Jovi poured out of her toy teapot to his tiny toy cup.

The blue haired girl giggled over her memory of putting a tiny hat on a much younger and happier Michael long ago. The thought along with the immediate company of her older brother dispelled the fear and anxiety in her heart. She stood beside Michael as he investigated the papers left in the cabinet and scattered on the floor.

"Look at these Jovi. These look like papers detailing Shadow Pokémon that were made here…. By the look of these dates, these Shadow Pokémon were made nine years ago during the first incident.", Michael said as he held out a couple of sheets detailing data about certain listed Shadow Pokémon.

"Shadow Murkrow, Shadow Misdreavus, Shadow Ursuring, Shadow Piloswine…..", he read aloud shuffling the papers in his hand.

"Do you think Wes snagged these Pokémon and saved them nine years ago?", questioned Jovi as she took a few sheets to see more listed Shadow Pokemon.

"Probably….. What's this though? A Failed Shadow Scizor?", he said pulling out a sheet that had details of a Shadow Scizor that had been stamped red with the word "Failed".

"What do they mean by that?", queried the sister as she held down the paper in his hand to see.

"It says here this was a failed….. a failed Shadow Pokémon? After closed its heart…. it wouldn't wake up to fight as it should….. so it failed….", Michael skimmed down the description of its situation.

"That's…. that's horrible! Oh that poor Pokémon….. I guess it never got saved by Wes?", said Jovi with sympathy for the unfortunate Pokémon.

"I'm afraid not….. It seems to be the third and last Pokémon to have failed…. Unable to wake up after having their hearts artificially closed….. I'm glad Cipher is gone. I wouldn't want to see this laboratory used for ruining the lives of so many innocent Pokémon again… it's just sad to think people would even think of it…", Michael said placing the papers back in their cabinet.

The red headed teen silently walked back to the glass door after traversing around the glass tanks again. Jovi could feel how disturbed her brother was to be reminded of the terrible period of Orre's history. If it weren't for Michael to finally put an end to Cipher that day four years ago, who knows how many other Pokémon would have met with their lives cut short due to the faults of malignant human ingenuity. She followed her brother out of the laboratory so that they may finally reach the Archive Server Room below in the now fully powered Cipher facility.

Taking the cylindrical glass elevator down together, they arrived at another long metallic hallway. When Michael stepped forward, he recognized and realized something. He urged his sister to remain silent.

"Shhhh…. This is where we heard those footsteps from earlier; you remember the room where they kept Krane right? Well it's on this floor just across the wall ahead….", Michael whispered as he slowly stepped forward passing by a flashing panel on the metal wall that seemed to be a switch for a security alarm.

"Okay… I'll keep my eyes and ears peeled.", she whispered back as she followed closely behind her Snag Machine wielding older brother.

The two walked forward around a corner into another metal hallway to a space decorated with thin cooling tanks in front of an open gate to the transitioning space from the hallway to the stares down to the Archive Server room. Despite completely powered and functional, the ambiance of the laboratory was completely silent. Only the echoes of their own footsteps could be heard with a constant tap. Michael's shoes and Jovi's boots squeaked and brushed against the floor as they treaded the empty hallway.

"We're almost there….", he said as they began approaching the open black iron gate.

Jovi's heart raced as she felt they were about to encounter something important. Whether it was a ghost or a person or a Pokémon, her heart kept beating fast as she stayed at her brother's side. She kept her big blue eyes wide open in observing her environment. Their footsteps and heartbeat filled her ear drums as they finally arrived at the silent open gate that has been retracted into the walls.

"Nothing so far…. I never noticed how this panel seemed to show these Pokémon… it looks like it might have been used for a code once.", Michael observed as he examined the panel next to the gate as he stood near a thin bubbling cooling tank.

Jovi stood beside her brother to look into the panel of different Pokémon illustrations. Three of the Pokémon seemed to depict the legendary Entei, Suicune, and Raikou for some reason. It was intriguing to behold the three legendary Pokémon before stepping forward across the open gate to find the next room ahead with a set of stairs surrounded by four more miniature cooling tanks.

"BAM!", went the gate as it suddenly slammed itself shut dividing Michael and Jovi from each other.

The azure sister was startled and immediately rushed up to the gate calling out for her brother in a scared manner while Michael was still recovering from the sudden shock of the sudden loud noise of the slammed shut gate in his path that divided him from his little sister. He regained his senses and placed himself against the wall as he heard his sister pleading for his help.

"MICHAEL! I'M TRAPPED! MICHAEL!", she shouted in fear as she banged her fists on the metal door.

"Hold on Jovi! Ah?! Who could have activated these doors to shut them?! Hold on, I'm going to melt this door open. Stand back!", he said as he was about call forth one of his emergency Pokémon out of its Ultra Ball.

Jovi stood back and waited as she watched her surroundings grow dim. The light around her was starting to go out for some reason. She almost started to tear up before she threw out her Litwick to provide her light in the darkness and comforting company.

"MOLTRES! MELT THAT DOOR DOWN! FLAMETHROWER!", Michael shouted as the large legendary fire bird stood in front of the door ready to blast it with its fiery breath

The legendary flaming bird screeched before spewing a steady stream of flames from its beak. Every ember made contact with the door and the heat in the hallway was beginning to build up. Despite the immense temperature and fury of the Moltres, the door was unscathed by the attack.

"Gahh, Hitmonchan! Brick Break on that gate!", Michael commanded as he sent out his trusty Hitmonchan to get the job done.

Standing aside, the Moltres observed its savior command the Hitmonchan to attack the gate. As soon as Hitmonchan made contact with the gate with a forceful Brick Break attack, it could only withdraw and squeal in pain from how hot the metal had gotten with Moltres' attack. It barely made a dent on the super-heated iron door and Michael was short on his options for how to break through the impenetrable gate.

"Hang on Jovi! I'll go back up and around to take the elevator down to the Server room and meet you there! Or just stay there, better yet just stay there and I'll come get you! Okay? Don't worry I'll be right there hold on!", Michael shouted to his trapped sister before returning his Pokémon and sprinting down the metal hallway towards the cylindrical elevator.

"Okay…. Okay…..", Jovi said to herself as she held her Litwick in her arms.

She ventured to the staircase and debated whether or not she should go downstairs to the Server Room to meet with her brother or maybe even ride the elevator up to meet with her brother faster. If she could make it through this darkened section of the laboratory, she'll make it to the lit sector above on the main basement floor to meet with Michael. However, she also thought about the possibility of finding something in the Server room that might not want to encounter alone.

"I… let's go…. But don't make a sound…..", Jovi said to her Ghost and Fire type Pokémon sitting in her arms.

The Litwick nodded and lessened the intensity of its flame before she stepped carefully down the metal steps into the server room. She looked from where she could see on the highest step possible, two coffin-shaped machines with various blinking red lights with an ambiance of running fans inside the computers and consoles. She slowly stepped down the steps until she placed her right foot on the floor. As soon as she settle both of her feet on the floor she could feel a sense of dread coming over her, as if she was being watched by someone very close by.

"… don't… make a noise….. in fact turn off that light!", she requested of her Litwick.

The Ghost and Fire type complied as it nervously shivered in her arms. Using only the red lights of the servers to guide her, she was able to gain a few more steps forward before she was interrupted and startled by the sound of really close footsteps coming towards her from around the second server!

A tall silhouette of a man with red glowing eyes and ominous hair that blended with the shadows approached her and nearly made her scream with fear. She kept silent and held her Litwick tightly as she listened to it speak to her. She could see his eyes looking down on her.

"So… it seems we have ourselves a new recruit coming to join our cause? Or are you some looter wanting to scavenge what you will off of this ancient laboratory once meant to change the world? Do you know who I am? Who are you?!", the shadow demanded to know who was this .

"I…. J-Jovi? S-sir…", Jovi responded with her name.

"Jovi? What an odd name… not as odd as Skrub, but odd nonetheless. My name is Nascour. I used to lead Cipher for a time until our time was cut short by two troublesome teenagers. Have you heard of me?", the shadow asked her a question again.

The frightened blue haired girl thought for a moment before answering again.

"W-Well I uh…. I mean…", she tried to answer but she hesitated and was cut off by tall dark man.

"Of course you wouldn't. Nobody should remember. Not even in our own region. Our time is over… However, we 're here again and this time we'll redeem ourselves. Tell me Jovi, what do you think you see here? A ghost of one of Cipher's most powerful commanding officers in history or the beginning of something that will change the world as you know it for the better?"

Jovi remained speechless as she stared at the red eyes of the demented shadow. The shadow walked toward her and revealed itself to be a muscular man dressed in purple ominous clothing with contact lenses that shined red out of his eyes. His hair was a white sprawling nightmare that complemented his features. He spoke to her with an intimidating glare of his red glowing eyes.

"He said someone would come… I didn't expect it to be a little girl like you. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to the other side. I promise you'll like it there. It truly is a paradise for all of us. I'm sure you'd grow fond of. Come with me, and I will show you. ", he offered her the chance to go with him to the 'other side' as he offered his hand towards her.

Hearing this, Jovi was unsettled and nearly shrieked as she could only imagine what he meant. Assuming the shadow is Nacour's ghost, she panicked and shook her head while muttering "NO!" in response. She faced forward and looked at the shadowy man's response to her rejecting his offer to take her to the "other side".

"No? Well I can't have you know I was here, so I don't think you have a choice either way.", said Nascour with a monotone tone as he drew out two Poke Balls onto his right hand.

Jovi let out a shriek of fear as she realized she had just been challenged to a battle by the ghost of Cipher's Nascour. She stood back and watched what Nascour had sent out in front of her in between the Servers. The battle had begun.

"Mismagius! Gengar!", he called out of their capsules.

They materialized ready to battle. Jovi called out her Minun and placed her Litwick on the floor to battle with the enemy. Mimi and Litwick looked back at their trainer and awaited her order as they stood facing against the adversaries. Seeing their trainer panic dwindled their confidence, but they eagerly waited for her order before Nascour could issue his to his Pokémon.

"Okay! O-Okay okay keep calm, first thing's first, What is a Mismagius?, she asked herself as she pulled out the scanner Seth gave her in Gateon Port.

She unfolded the two screened device and activated it on the floating foreign Ghost Type Pokémon In the dark. In the lit screen with the pointed lens on the back of the device, she was able to identify Mismagius as the next evolution of Misdreavus.

"Oooh? I didn't know that Pokémon had another evolution… It's a Ghost Type with Levitate as its ability.", she observed before hearing Nascour snap at her.

"Where did you get that device?! Nothing made in Orre can properly identify a Pokémon like this! Mismagius! Perish Song! Gengar, Mean Look on the Litwick!"

In response, Jovi quickly thought back to what Michael had taught her and decided to go with the Paralyses inflicting tactic. If she could delay the battle long enough, Michael might arrive down the elevator and intervene to save her from her inevitable defeat from the powerful adversary.

"Mimi! Thunder Wave on Mismagius! Litwick, Hex on Mismagius!", she shouted as she kept herself from panicking anymore.

The Minun jumped and let loose an electric shock to paralyze Mismagius, but not before it had already sung its Perish Song for all the Pokémon to hear. Upon hearing the sad song, the four Pokémon were already on their wait to fainting after four more attacks. Gengar looked menacingly at the Litwick to keep itself from returning to its ball or escaping. Litwick blasted the Mismagius with a ghostly blast of energy that doubled with its status condition. Mismagius was inflicted with enough damage from that powerful combo attack to have fainted on the spot, forcing Nascour to return it to its ball.

"You have quite an unusual Pokémon there. I don't believe I've ever seen a foreign Pokémon like that in Orre. Makes me wonder how you caught it… Xatu!", he called out another Pokémon out of its ball.

Having seen the foe's Pokémon summoned out of its capsule, Jovi remained calm and shouted her next set of moves for her Pokémon to carry out. Jovi had her Minun paralyze Xatu as Litwick was told to use Confuse Ray on Gengar to possibly delay it from knocking out her Pokémon.

The Xatu used Psychic on Mimi before he could even inflict it with Thunder Wave. It fainted, and Jovi was forced to switch Mimi out with Pluplu her Plusle. The enemy's Gengar used Nightshade on Litwick, but the damage was not enough for Litwick to faint but it was left barely standing up right on its candle-like body.

Jovi's heart raced as she quickly thought about what to do from there. Her thoughts were interrupted by more of Nascour's speech.

"Your Pokémon cannot stand against mine. You will fail and be liberated once I've accepted your surrender. There is no shame in losing, but there is shame in forgetting why you've lost.", he said before issuing his next commands to his Pokémon.

Xatu raised its wings and used its Psychic power to distort the air around it as it readied a Future Sight attack. Jovi assessed the situation and was about to use one of her Super Potions she received from the item chest she found with Michael previously. Just as she applied the medicine, the Candle Pokémon fainted instantly despite its added health.

"What?!", she exclaimed in shock before she saw her foe's Gengar faint at the same time.

"Oh…. Perish Song.", she realized her mistake as she withdrew her fainted Pokémon.

"Always pay attention to everything! Acknowledge what has happened in the past or it may come back to haunt you with all of its consequences! ", Nascour scolded her before sending out his formidable Blaziken.

The Fire and Fighting type stood with Xatu against the lone Plusle. Pluplu looked back at its trainer with a worried look in its little black eyes. Jovi wished Michael would have arrived by now to save her from her first defeat. She assessed the situation and concluded she had no chance to win here.

"Pluplu return! ….. now's the time Michael please….", she pleaded to herself.

"The game is now over.", Nascour declared before walking in between his two Pokémon towards the azure girl.

As she remained frozen in fear watching the ghostly man approach her, she heard the sound of an elevator snapping on to a station and opening its glass doors somewhere within the room. Her heart was about to explode from the fear of where the man would take her if it weren't for him suddenly turning his attention to the rushing steps coming towards the small battlefield.

"JOVI!", Michael shouted for his sister as he immediately told his Umbreon to use Bite on Xatu and sent out his Hitmonchan before telling it to use Sky Uppercut on the Blaziken.

Nascour faced the red headed teen with his the light of his Snag Machine illuminating his side of battlefield. Xatu had fainted and has been returned to its ball while Blaziken stood injured but ready to fight as it stared down Michael's Hitmonchan. Michael took a moment to look at who he was fighting. He could almost compare Nascour's shadowy appearance to the creature in the picture but the red glowing eyes of his were too small to match whatever it could be.

"Who are you?! Where's my sister?!", he shouted angrily as he clutched his fists.

"I'm here Michael!", Jovi shouted before attempting to run to his side only to be deterred by Nascour when he stretched his hand to block her way.

"Michael? You're the….. I see... It's an honor to finally meet in you person. The child who finally brought down Cipher all by himself so long ago.", Nascour politely greeted him as he stood between him and Jovi.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!", Michael demanded answers as his Umbreon growled and Hitmonchan stood ready to fight the enemy Blaziken.

Before he could answer, Nascour observed and laughed when the Future Sight attack his Xatu created previously had struck Hitmonchan down with a super effective psychic attack. The Punching Pokémon fainted and was recalled back into its ball. Michael switched him out with the Walrein he had brought out of his PC.

"How unfortunate… This was all very amusing, but I'm afraid I cannot remain here any longer. There is no stopping what is set in motion. We have seen this play out in his dream. Soon everything will be changed for the better.", Nascour said to Michael before returning his Pokémon to their balls and proceeding to walk calmly past Jovi to the stairs she had came down from.

Jovi looked at Nascour disappear into the darkness protruding from the stairway for a moment before seeing her brother approach her with concern over her well-being.

"Jovi! Are you alright? Are you hurt?", he asked his sister before looking at the stairway around the corner of the server they stood by.

"I'm fine! That was Nascour! Hurry after him!", Jovi shouted with a cheer for her brother as he returned his slower moving Walrein and ran up the stairs after the mysterious ghostly villain with his Umbreon following behind him.

As soon as Michael had ran up the stairs into the room Jovi had been separated from him from the unexpected closure of the gate, the darkness of the room was lifted and the lights had returned. Nascour was not in the room and the gate has been closed. When he investigated the gate, its doors were still locked and impassible. The ghostly villain has just completely disappeared without a trace.

"He's…. gone?...", Michael observed as he inspected the door and the walls.

He could only find a small vent in the ceiling that is too small for a grown man to fit through. He checked every corner of every wall including the four small water cooling tanks that stood through the panels of the floor. Michael couldn't believe what just happened.

"…. Gone…."

"Gone? Nascour's gone?", Jovi asked as she rose up out of the stairway to reunite with her brother again.

"That gate is locked, and there's no way out of here besides the elevator I took down here. It's not possible but it seems…. Like he was never here? Maybe it was a hologram? Or something?", Michael said trying to come up with some logical explanation as he watched his Umbreon look around the room with its red eyes wide.

"Or….. a ghost?", the little sister suggested.

"Hold on a moment, Jovi what happened when I was running up there to the elevator? Were you battling with him?", he asked with a concerned tone towards his sister.

"I-I was… I had no choice h-he wanted to take me to the 'other side'. He said I'd like it there…", Jovi said with a stutter in trying to make sure she wasn't just imagining the words.

Hearing this gave the red headed teen a chill up his spine as he would imagine what the case would be if the shadowy man resembling Nascour really was a ghost all along. A ghost dragging his sister into the Spirit World is an unsettling thought. He looked over to his sister who was still shivering from her experience with the mysterious shadowy man who claimed himself to be Nascour of the old Cipher Syndicate nine years ago during the first Shadow Pokémon Crisis.

"Are you really alright?", Michael asked his quivering younger sister as he approached her.

"I…. I was so afraid…. That he was going to take me once I had lost the battle… I don't know what would have happened if you didn't come here in time…", the blue haired sister said as she held her chilled arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen… I didn't know that the gate would close on you. I was just looking at that code input panel beside it and…. Well…. You know."

"You didn't close it on me did you?", she asked facing him with her blue eyes wide and smile turned upside down.

"What?! No! No no no I didn't even touch it! I swear I didn't-"

"Heheh just kidding big brother. I know it wasn't your fault. But next time we split, can you come find me a little faster?", she requested of him with another sincere smile.

"Of course… little sister... but you seemed able to hold out a little while, what were you doing?"

"Well, I tried to keep his Pokémon from attacking. I was trying to stall for time until you'd come save me… but his Pokémon were just too powerful for Mimi, Pluplu, and Litwick… You know I kinda want to think of a nickname for Litwick now that I think about it…. Heheh.", said Jovi before pondering what nickname should be given to her Candlestick Pokémon.

"Wow. And you were able to stay in the battle long enough at least until the last minute? That's impressive! You held against a Cipher mastermind on your second trainer battle! Haha! Your adventure is starting to look a lot more exciting than mine!", the older brother congratulated his little sister as he returned his Umbreon patiently waiting beside his feet.

"Really? Haha thank you! Michael, what do you do if you lose to a bad guy like that? I lost, but you were there to save me so, what would you do?", Jovi asked with curiosity over what would she have to do if she lost to a bad guy.

Michael thought about it for a moment. As he thought about it, he suggested that they should return to the server room and investigate the console for any important information they could find. While they returned down the stairway, Michael could remember what he'd do if he ever lost a battle against a Cipher agent.

"If I lost, I'd return all my Pokémon and…. I think I would just make a beeline for the nearest Healing Machine or Pokémon center… at least I think I do…. I sorta white out whenever that happens though. I can't explain why I do, but thankfully that hasn't happened too often during my adventure. I can't remember how it feels like to lose like that…. Well besides that time yesterday with Seth. I didn't White Out there… I guess it's more like a situational thing for me. I don't know. Am I making any sense to you?", Michael said with a laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"That is weird. I remember you telling me about Whiting Out whenever you lost…. Does it hurt when you White Out after a loss?", Jovi asked as she walked by her brother around the servers.

"Well…. It's not so much painful as it is mind numbing... it's almost like a sleep walking response you know? Which is odd because I can't remember ever being diagnosed with a disorder of any kind…? I remember sometimes I just find myself at the last healing station after a loss. And when I encounter who I lost to again they remember winning against me, but they're surprised to see that I come back stronger with my Pokémon every time…"

"Huh…. Well, forget that then. You know what I actually kinda wonder a little?", Jovi asked her brother again before he responded with a shrug as they arrived at the console in the Archive Server room.

"What would that be?", Michael questioned upon placing his hands on the keyboard of the console.

"If Nascour dragged me into the Ghost World…. Do you think I could have seen dad again? In the… 'other side'?"

Upon hearing her theory, Michael fell silent at the mention of the theoretical possibility of her sister seeing their father again in the afterlife if he hadn't intervened in time. His heart sank at the thought of seeing her go just as he saw his father go before his own eyes months before his journey.

"I'm sorry Michael! I was just curious! Don't think about it too much. I forgot how you felt about anyone mentioning dad like before."

"Oh forget that. I've been over it long ago the moment I purified my last Shadow Pokémon. As nice as it would be to see dad again, let's not see him anytime soon okay? I think he can wait for us. ", said Michael as he tried not to relive the last memory he had of his father in his mind.

He fell silent again as he focused his mind on accessing the database within the abandoned laboratory. He established a connection to the servers with Ein's pass code before tapping on the touch sensitive monitor to select one of the two servers. A majority of the files were erased, but they could be recovered with Michael's knowledge of Orre PC data mining he learned from Nett at ONBS in Pyrite Town. He drew out his P DA and slid it open to access his inbox to retrieve the documents he is about to recover by having Ein's account rip and distribute the recovered files through wireless communication.

"Sorry big bro…", Jovi expressed her regret as she faced the computer by her brother's side.

"Sorry for what?", the red headed teen replied to his sister as he viewed his plundered files filling is inbox on his P DA.

"Sorry for mentioning dad… making you worry and getting separated and…. Nascour and other stuff...", she said with a melancholy tone as she looked down at the metal floor.

Michael looked at his little sister and gave a little laugh at how cute she was when she tried to blame herself for things she couldn't older brother wrapped his Snag-Machine-mounted left arm around his sister's left shoulder and gave her a little reassuring hug. Jovi little frown turned into a smile as she looked at her brother before the azure sister looked to see the prize they came here for in Michael's P DA.

"Look at all of these documents! Though some of these look like they're dated just when the first crisis ended, I think we've got some pretty valuable information here. How about when we get home… Let's have some bowls of ice cream and read over these together at a table. How about that?", Michael suggested as he saw his little sister's bright grin return to her face.

"Awh I'd love that big brother! If we're done here, we can go back up without having anymore ghosts creeping up on us if you'd like. I'm ready when you are.", the younger blue haired sister answered as she eagerly awaited near the cylindrical glass elevator her brother descended from.

Michael took all the data he could out of the many files and memos Ein had made long ago and closed his Pokémon Digital Assistant. He slipped it back into his black waist bag and proceeded with his sister into the glass elevator up onto the main lobby of the first basement floor before proceeding to ride the very first elevator back up to the surface facility.

Before they left the facility, they both turned to notice the functional Healing Machine they had overlooked when they first came in, as well as another purple item chest hiding in the corner beside the useful machine. Michael pointed at the two and suggested that she should go inspect them. Jovi walked up to the Healing Machine and was asked by the machine itself in a text box on its monitor, "Would you like to heal your Pokémon?" with a Yes or No option on the touch screen.

"Yes please.", she said as she placed her finger on the option before inserter her three Poke Balls into three of the six Poke Ball sockets.

After the machine healed the three beaten Pokémon back to health as it chimed a little friendly familiar tune, Jovi placed her Poke Balls back in her pockets and examined the purple item chest in the corner. Michael accompanied her and observed as she unboxed and found a beaten broken handheld device of some sort.

"What is this Michael?", she asked as she held the mistreated broken machine.

"I don't know, I've never seen it before…. Maybe we should go to Pyrite Town sometime and ask Secc and the others at ONBS if they know? It's probably some device made by Cipher for some purpose…", the older brother responded when he looked at it in her hands.

Inspecting the device, it appeared to be a plastic PDA of some sort with ports on its top end while its face seemed to be a cracked screen with buttons and a pad on it. It seemed to have text slightly below the screen on its edge but it's faded and unreadable now.

"If I were you, I'd keep it in my Key Items Pocket just in case. A general rule of thumb when you're on an adventure: if you find something that seems useless at first glance; it's likely going to be useful or important at some point down the road. So keep it if you'd like! I don't know if I could fix that though. I've never seen anything like it…. Which makes me wonder who keeps leaving these purple chests? And why? They seemed to just appear out of nowhere now…"

"Maybe somebody is leaving these for us? …. Hey didn't we already talk about this earlier?"

"Did we? We might have… it's still very mysterious though…. Maybe we'll find out soon enough… Let's roll."


	4. Episode 2 Part 3 of 3

They both emerged from the lab to find that dusk is upon Orre's sky. With the darkness of night coming to the region once again, Michael and Jovi had to debate on what they are to do from the desert Cipher Laboratory.

"I think it's too late to go to the Cipher Key Lair now…. I still want to investigate the sailor's Slaking in Gateon Port to see if it really was what I thought it might be before we go home...", Michael stated what was once on his original agenda of the day.

"We can go there. You're leading this party…. Although please decide quickly. The desert gives me the creeps at night… especially knowing ghosts probably exist now.", Jovi said referring to her encounter with Nascour's ghost in the abandoned lab.

"Right... To be honest, I'm just as unnerved by the picture of that shadow creature. I hope we get to know what it is soon.", the red headed teen expressed his curiosity.

"Oh yeah…. Heh thanks for the imagery bro.", his sister expressed her sarcastic gratitude as she looked into the desert horizon for suspicious shadows with red glowing eyes.

"Oh! Don't worry about it sister. I've been out here in the desert at night so many times I rarely see anything out of the ordinary. And even when I do they turn out to be nothing… as far as I know anyway. A few months ago I saw some bright lights shining behind some trees in the forest near Agate, but when I drove around there wasn't anything there… Nothing to worry about though I promise.", Michael said trying to keep his sister from feeling spooked by the empty darkening desert.

"L-Let's not waste any time here then heh…. Just follow me.", he urged before slipping his desert goggles over his eyes and began accelerating his hover cycle across the sand away from the abandoned instillation.

Jovi accelerated her vehicle and zoomed close behind her brother as she watched the relatively familiar landscape around her slowly fall into darkness. The sun has already set by the time they had traversed across the badlands into the more vegetated region of Orre towards Gateon Port. The blue haired girl took note of the changing sky as they arrived on the border between the desert and the forest. Although she knew they were alone in their trip, she couldn't help but imagine Nascour's ghost or some far away pair of eyes watching them over the darkening horizon. Maybe it wouldn't feel so ominous if Wild Pokémon had remained in Orre to inhabit its environments.

When they had arrived at their destination, they left their vehicles behind at the top of the steps of the gate of Gateon Port. The siblings passed by the previously opened purple item chest near Gateon Port's welcoming sign and stepped down the steps. They strolled forward together towards the Krabby Club again and entered through the double doors to see the same sailor from yesterday sitting at the one table left in the tavern.

Jovi looked surprised to see it so empty since yesterday. Michael was saddened to see that the owner is already cleaning out and packing things up to add another empty building to the list of abandoned structures in Orre. Ignoring his lament to see more of Orre's residents leaving their homes, Michael approached the sailor who was busy watching the ONBS news broadcast on the giant dusty television set casting a live interview for Seth the Magician.

"So you've been to these other regions before? What are they like?", asked the familiar red dressed news women to the gray haired young man in his dark cloak concealing his thick left arm under his cloak.

"They're everything this region isn't I'm sorry to say. They thrive with Wild Pokémon and exotic Pokémon native to their lands. Any foreign land that has a 'Pokémon League' seem to thrive the most for some reason.", Seth responded as he rubbed his blue eyes that apparently itched.

"A Pokémon League?", she asked him again.

As Seth explained what a Pokémon League was in the television. Michael approached the sailor with his Snag Machine and Aura Reader ready to investigate his Slaking. The sailor turned his head and noticed him before he greeted him.

"Oh howdy! What's up?"

"Would you kindly send out that Slaking of yours? That same Slaking that went rampant yesterday that you won from the salesman?", Michael requested of him as he kept his stance beside the table.

"Oh Slaking? Uh…. How do I say this…. He's….. gone?", the sailor admitted with a nervous shrug.

"What?! Why?! How?!", interrogated Michael in shock of this revelation.

"I-I don't know! Yesterday when I came to in the Pokémon Center, Slaking's Poke Ball was missing and the nurse was gone too! I haven't seen her since yesterday… in fact I haven't seen anybody since yesterday. I've been feeding off of the scraps in the fridge over there.", the sailor explained before pointing to the fridge behind the bartender's counter.

"… If that's true, when did this place get so empty?", Michael asked again before feeling his sister brush against his Snag Machine mounted arm when she came by his side to pay attention.

"Heck I don't know. I found it like this. I'm not complaining through, my Pelipper is keeping me company and brings me drinks he finds in the basement. Aint that right buddy?", said with a blissful smile as he pointed to his Pelipper waddling out of the door way in the corner behind the bartender's bar with its beak full of soda cans.

The three watched the Water and Flying type waddle across the floor through the bar's hinged door and jumped on the table with a flap of its wings. It opened its big beak to show four cans of soda for its trainer to enjoy. The two siblings watched the sailor pull the cans out the Pelipper's beak as if it were a cooler.

"Yeeaap just sitting here and relaxing before my time comes too.", he said as he laid back snapping open a soda can in his hands and watched the television.

"Your time? What… is there some ship you're going to sail on soon? Sailor?", Michael questioned out of his raised suspicions of everyone involved in yesterday's incident.

The sailor shrugged before he responded to the red haired teen interrogating him…

"Obviously, we're all on our way out of Orre one way or another. Even Makan and Perr are gone from their shop. As far as I know I'm the only one here in Gateon Port now if you don't include my Pelipper, though I haven't bothered to check the Poke Mart but I reckon nobody will be there since the time I checked yesterday…. Awful tempting it is to loot the place, but I'm not in a hurry to get fat or stuff my Pokémon here with treats either.", the sailor said turning to his Pelipper who gave him a melancholy look back at its trainer as he sipped his fizzy soda pop.

The news of Perr and Makan's disappearance coming from the sailor shocked Michael, but he can't help but feel like it was to be expected. There was nothing left for them here even if he would occasionally come by for spare parts or batteries and blue prints. His Robo Kyogre they had been entrusted to take care of would probably be hidden inside the family vault they built in place of the special vault they constructed to hold the special machine part needed to complete the Purify Chamber four years ago.

"…. Alright... I guess you wouldn't know where Lovrina or her brother went either than.", Michael assumed of the lazy sailor.

"Wish I could say I do but I don't. I don't even know what they look like."

"A woman with big pink hair and her brother that had sunglasses?", Michael described the two to the sailor.

"Ummm nope sorry.", the sailor answered his final question.

Michael was unsatisfied and turned anxious to know what Lovrina and Naps were doing back in Orre and what Fateen's warning has to do with the events that have happened so far. The suspicious stout foreign salesman, the rampaging Slaking that fought with its eyes closed but did not show to be sleeping or even acting like a normal Slaking should, the strange encounter with Nascour's shadowy ghost in Cipher's abandoned desert lab, and now the complete disappearance of everyone in Gateon Port including the return and disappearance of Lovrina and her brother. Not to mention Seth the Magician who Michael now considers as suspect again in his chain of unsolved mysteries.

Michael turn to see his sister just as deep in thought as he is in trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together. The blue haired girl noticed her brother and faced him with a puzzled and concern expression on her face. He listened to what she had to say.

"It's all so strange….. but sad too. They're all gone Michael? I'm sure they're just moving on but what about those two…. Lovrina and her brother? I forgot what his name is….", the azure sister said.

"His name was Naps. As much as I don't want to say it, they're suspects in this case. Something isn't right and I don't like it.", Michael expressed his distasted in this mysterious case before turning to look at the large television screen to see Seth's live interview at ONBS.

"So what are you intending to do here in Orre? Especially now with most of our population gone?", the formally dressed news casting women in red asked him.

"Well I had hoped I could perform for an audience here in this region, but this region is so empty that only a few pairs of eyes would ever see my show. For now I suppose I'll just be sight-seeing what I used to call my home. Maybe find some clue as to why things are the way they are now."

"Ahh okay. In my opinion if you want to get a lot of information on Orre, maybe you should visit Secc in his office on the roof after we're done here? ONBS has always been up to date with the latest in what's happening in Orre for the past four years…. Even if nothing really happened in the last four years… well if you don't include the disappearance of Pokémon and migrants leaving over the years.", she stated remembering the chains of slow news days she had to endure with the rest of the ONBS crew.

"I'll think about it. I might just visit him in a moment if he has the time… or perhaps not. I might have to meet with my secretary soon to see where we'll spend the night. I take it Pyrite Hotel is vacant?", the cloaked magician questioned as he kept his features below his neck hidden with his cloak.

"Always have and always will. You don't even need to sign in or pay for a room either. Duking has been-"

"That's enough...", Michael said turning away from the television and facing the double door exit.

Jovi took her eyes and ears away from the television too and followed her brother out the door while she waved goodbye at the Pelipper. Its trainer wasn't paying attention but the Pokémon waved back at her with a little flap of its right wing. The azure girl did grin at the little interaction between her and the Pokémon before they left the building and eventually Gateon Port all together for their trip home.

The siblings traversed across the dark forest the headlights on Michael's vehicle illuminating their path. The smell of dead leaves filled their nostrils as the cold wind blew into their faces. Jovi kept up with her brother through the dark path. Michael kept his eyes on the road ahead up until he spotted something moving in his path.

Thinking it might be a wild Pokémon; he quickly stopped his vehicle and motioned his sister to stop behind him. Jovi did as she was instructed and watched as her brother silently approached whatever it was blocking the way. They were both driven with shock to see the light of Michael's hovercycle reflecting off of the eyes of the unidentifiable entity.

"Hello?", Michael called out.

He waited for it to move for a moment. Jovi watched as she sat on her vehicle with her right boot on the ground. Her eyes viewed her brother venturing forward towards the object of interest.

"…..Nobody?", exclaimed the boy when he couldn't see the entity anymore.

When he brushed his right shoe against the dirt, he felt something kick up off of the ground. He looked down to see a dirty abandoned plastic card half covered in dirt. He picked it up and brushed off the dirt, but he couldn't make out what it was even if he showed it into the light of his hovercycle.

"What is it?", Jovi asked when she approached him gazing at the piece of plastic.

"I-I don't know…. I thought I saw something but there wasn't anything there. This was by my feet but I can't tell what it is it's just too dirty…. H-how about let's keep going shall we? We'll have that ice cream and take a look at what we've found today.", Michael suggested still trying to keep his assurance despite the paranormal events happening recently.

The younger sister agreed without a second thought. The two proceeded to ride their hovercycles back to the HQ Lab. The sight of their illuminated home in the darkness of the forest brought relief and familiar sense of safety even if a portion of the structure is under disrepair. The giant holographic Poke Ball on top would not be active during the night but the blue light emitting from the functional fountains in the front yard would still provide additional light.

"Yumm!", Jovi expressed herself as she enjoyed a spoon full of Pecha Berry Ice Cream off of her plastic bowl at the table within their living room in the residential wing.

The homey room had Jovi sitting alone at the table with her Plusle and Minun sitting in the corner of the room on the floor listening to her Litwick's whispers as if it were telling a story. Everyone looked at the automatic sliding door to see Michael entering with a bowl of ice cream and his P DA in hand. Jovi was excited to see what they have discovered today.

"I couldn't find any sea-salt ice cream. I hope Phenac City's Poke Mart might hold some when we get there.", Michael expressed his hope for his old favorite flavor as he sat next to his sister and placed his P DA between him and her with its screen open to his inbox stuffed with documents from the servers within Cipher's abandoned desert laboratory.

"When we get there? Are we going there tomorrow big bro?", Jovi questioned in response as she pulled the P DA towards her to get a better view.

"Well now we are. Take a look at what we found back there in the ground.", replied her brother flashing her a plastic card with a now cleansed shining surface.

She held it and read what it was. It was an "E-Card Battle" Key Card to a special room within Phenac City's Colosseum. The card was dark blue and weathered by the elements with scratches on its surface and dulled edges. Along the bottom edge seemed to be a code of some sort for swiping into a machine. Jovi flipped it and saw a small set of directions to get to the room.

"Ooooooh? I guess we know what we're going to do tomorrow huh? Haha!", Jovi said in a cheering manner.

"Heheh yeah, but for now let's look over what we've found today. Do you still have that broken device from that item chest?"

"Oh yeah! Here."

Jovi slid the broken plastic PDA on to the table beside Michael's P DA. The clues they've found today are all together on the table. The card, the device, and a mass of files off of Cipher's archive servers were ready to be inspected. Michael selected the first file and read it to begin their research.

Jovi was taken back on how this reminded her of an episode of Pokémon Trozei where Agent Lucy Fleetfoot and her team at Secret Operation League had to research on the origin of the Phobosphere and where to find it to rescue the captive Pokémon. The series didn't get really intense until the episode after the next episode however when Lucy Fleetfoot finally found herself within the fortress. In the manga it had its differences, but they both shared the same story. Jovi giggled to think of herself as the hero in her own story but with her big brother to teach her and guide her before she'd set off on her own goals.

They read the documents as they enjoyed their dessert. They decided to start at the very beginning at first. Although there was not much to discover besides the now known existence of Shadow Pokemon Michael had never seen before. Presumably all the early Shadow Pokémon, besides the three failed Pokémon discovered in the documents back in the abandoned lab, were snagged and purified by the two earliest heroes of Orre, Wes and Rui.

Mention of a Shadow Pokémon plan surfaced in one of the documents. Although it didn't refer to XD001 Shadow Lugia, it looked as if they were expecting to make the ultimate Shadow Pokémon nine years ago. They made a prototype, a Shadow Tyranitar with captured Suicune, Raikou, and Entei ready to be made into Shadow Pokémon around the same time. Their definition of the "Ultimate Shadow Pokémon" seemed different back than then it did five years after during the second crisis. The Ultimate Shadow Pokémon was destructive and difficult to purify but it was not impossible. Cipher made something they had hoped to be unbeatable, but they failed to account for the possibility of their own technology for easily stealing Pokémon from trainers turning against their creators.

A detailed description was found on the process of how a Shadow Pokémon is made. As described by Ein, a Shadow Pokémon is made by virtually slamming shut and locking the door to a Pokémon's heart. The process is believed to keep the Pokémon from having positive emotions and remembering any fond memories it may have had. The process drives them mad and turns them into fighting machines. How they were made however is quite graphic and sad to even read unfortunately. It involves putting the Pokémon into a coma and manipulating its "heart" with a man-made "Shadow" element, synthesized by elements found deep under Orre's desert, by piercing it and exposing it to the center of its being. Ein looks to be quite the sadist on how he treated these poor Pokémon.

There were some details on accidents in the laboratories. On different documents there would be dates on when a Shadow Pokémon was accidentally let loose and injured multiple personnel before being captured and contained again.

"Hmph, serves them right.", Michael expressed as he continued to read.

The Cipher admins of the time, Miror B., Dakim, Venus, and Ein lead their own segments of Cipher's forces and had the Shadow Pokémon produced in the lab divided among the four divisions. Nascour would represent Cipher to an extent but the true head of the operation would be Evice who would masquerade as Phenac City's mayor in order to fulfill his role as the puppeteer behind coordinated attacks and sneaked distribution of Shadow Pokémon. However, it seemed that even Evice had a higher power he served within Cipher's ranks. The information as to who is not stated but Michael and Jovi both knew it was Greevil A.K.A. Mr. Verich as they first encountered him at Gateon Port four years back.

Team Snagem was a renegade group of Pokémon thieves not originally part of Cipher's plans but were hired onto their side when Cipher offered them tools that would help them easily steal Pokémon from innocent trainers. Team Snagem used their funding and technology to create two variants of Snag Machines. The larger variant being a motorized bulky Snag Machine that stood and appeared as a vending machine of some sort that would actively snag Poke Balls off of trainers with its mechanical arms, and the smaller Snag Machine that was nothing like its bigger counterparts. The mobile Snag Machine that was to be mounted on the Snagger's left arm would convert Poke Balls placed in the palm into Snag Balls to Snag and capture any Pokémon not owned by the wielder. Apparently only one was ever made, and that one was stolen by Wes before proceeding to escape the Snagem Hideout he had spent his life as a top tier Snagem Grunt and set fire to it with an explosion to add to the chaos.

Prior to that time, a teenage girl had been spotted in Pyrite Town that called out on a battle within Battle Square. She proclaimed that she could see a black aura on this trainer's Slugma. It wasn't long before Miror B. sent Trudly and Folly to deal with her and keep her mouth shut from exposing the truth. The fact that there existed a human that could plainly tell the difference between a Shadow Pokémon from a regular Pokémon just by looking at it scared Evice. She would have been brought in to be researched on how she could perceive the black aura of Shadow Pokémon and what the probability is of encountering a human with such enhanced vision.

It was in investigating the aura of Shadow Pokémon that Ein realized that the doors to a Shadow Pokémon's heart, a Shadow Pokémon that has been entrusted to a trainer, would have been opened to an extent before reaching the final lock that divides it from being pure again. And in attempting to bond with Shadow Pokémon via Pokémon battles would on occasion, trigger an emotional outburst leading into a fury of unstable random actions including but not limited to attacking its own trainer and opposing trainers and people. This unstable behavior has been called "Hyper Mode" however, as unstable as it is, it can easily be dispelled by the call of its own trainer to tell it to calm down and insure everything is alright. A trainer calling his Shadow Pokémon that is in Hyper Mode will also drastically open the door to that Pokémon's heart to further aide in the purification progress.

"So Lovrina changed Shadow Pokémon to be more controllable in 'Reverse Mode' and got rid of Hyper Mode all together? Interesting…. Probably to help make the entire plan stealthier and not have unsuspecting trainers notice they have a Shadow Pokémon.", Michael deducted.

Wes had escaped Team Snagem with the Snag Machine. That was the beginning of the end of Cipher when Wes had accidentally intercepted with Trudly and Folly as they were transporting the troublesome girl with the ability to see the black auras. He rescued her and was influenced by her to use the Snag Machine for liberating Shadow Pokémon from their trainers so that they may find a way to save them. The first Pokémon he snagged was a Shadow Makuhita. One by one, every trainer who ever found him or herself with a Shadow Pokémon was approached by this couple, determined to purify Orre of its Shadows and save it from a future where Cipher ruled the world with its army of relentless fighting machines. Everything was snagged and purified as they ventured about destroying everything Cipher worked to accomplish.

Ein regrets the failure Skrub had presented him when he and his team failed to destroy the Relic in Agate Village. The Shadow Pokémon would have at least stayed with a heart that could never fully open up. But another problem he found besides just the relic's healing power was the power of the Celebi that resided within the forest. The Celebi is speculated to have the same healing power as the Relic, but is far harder to utilize as the Pokémon never reveals itself. Only rare musical artifacts scattered across the Orre region known as Time Flutes can be used to summon Celebi to aid whoever calls it. Dakim was supposed to retrieve a Time Flute from an Area leader at Mt. Battle who knew the secret of Celebi's purifying power, but Wes and his accomplice intervened and made a fool out of every one of his underlings including Dakim himself. The failure to prevent the purification in progress was what eventually lead Shadow Pokémon to their extinction when Cipher fell to Wes.

At the very last moments of operation however, when panic ensued among Cipher's operatives, something had gone awry within Cipher's foundation. Equipment missing and personnel claiming to have seen something popping in and out of existence within the halls they were supposed to patrol. The first reports of this phenomenon came from Skrub shortly after Ein's last defeat at the Realgam Tower. Despite being ignored, more reports started to come to the administrator's attention at the very last moments of Cipher's life. Cipher's establishment in the Under was reportedly being haunted by a visitor that tormented Peons and Grunt Volunteers. The entity could not be captured or studied before the evacuation and disbandment of Evice's Cipher presence. The last thing the files have said before ending abruptly was retreating to the Deep Colosseum to establish a makeshift base camp until help arrives. What this source of help is unknown however as there is absolutely no mention of Greevil or any of the more familiar representations of Cipher Michael is familiar with within any of the hundreds of documents he had just read.

Michael pulled his eyes away from the screen on his P DA and blinked his drowsy exhausted eyes with his mind fried from the amount of information he had just read. Beside him, his little sister was sound asleep with her face buried in the pit of her right elbow on the table with her empty bowl inches away from her hands on the surface of the table.

The older brother looked at the time on his P DA. It was already eleven o'clock at night. Looking at her three Pokémon sitting in the corner, Mimi and Pluplu had fallen asleep on each other while her little Litwick stood looking back at Michael with its little smile. As weird as the Pokémon is with its burning flame continuously lit with an unknown source, Michael couldn't help but feel like it's already part of their family. Not a real odd feeling for him as he has accepted every purified former Shadow Pokémon he saved into his family, but that was four years ago when there was still Pokémon to befriend or save.

Michael turned his attention back to his sleeping sister. He shook her shoulder, but she only responded with grunt and a snore. He tried calling her name, but she would not give an answer. The older brother shook his younger sister once more, but she would only continue sleeping like a Snorlax after eating its meals of the day. In this case, today they both ate their supper shortly before sitting at the table to investigate their clues.

"Oh Jovi come on. Mom wouldn't want find you here in the morning….. Speaking of which, where was she anyway? Probably in her room I guess…", he questioned himself on his attention skills before activating the automatic door to his sister's room.

Jovi's room used to be shared with her mother, but as employees left and she grew older it was decided that the younger sister could have her own room while Lily would sleep next door within the residential wing. Michael opened the door to her blue painted room and returned to his sister to plan on how to put her to bed without waking her up. Unfortunately it doesn't seem possible in his eyes, but he'll try. Before he would though, he'd poke her one more time.

"Mm-uh? Ah?! Oh… heh good morning brother….", mumbled Jovi when he accidentally scared her awake with him poking her on her left shoulder.

"Oh…. I mean goodnight! Heh….", she said upon realizing that she had been asleep at their table of clues with darkness outside their windows when she took a second look around her.

The blue girl slowly picked herself up off her chair and squinted at her tired brother as they both noticed the bags under both of their eyes. Jovi smiled at her brother before approaching the doorway to her room. Michael nodded and smiled back before he witnessed her turning to give him a goodnight hug as she occasionally would. He hugged her back and patted her back for a brief moment before she let go of him and began to speak.

"Goodnight big brother! I think today was pretty fun... even if it got a little scary at the lab… and Chobin's robot attacking us… I promise I won't have nightmares though….yawwnnn-b-because I know they can't stand a chance against you. You're always there to keep us safe. Thanks Michael." Jovi expressed her gratitude towards a real childhood hero.

"Ah heh no problem … I do my best. Goodnight Jovi. Maybe tomorrow Professor Krane will give you that P DA he promised. Every new trainer should have one. Then you might even be ready to go on your own journey someday… hopefully not here though…. You know what I mean.", Michael responded as he scratched his scalp with a tired smirk on his face.

The younger sister waved him goodbye before entering and closing her automatic door behind her. Michael was left alone in the living room with only the sleeping Plusle, Minun, and idling Litwick to keep him company. He thought about attempting to make sense of the situation today and try to piece together all the pieces they have now, but the mere thought of putting his brain to work like that made him want to flop onto his own bed and burrow under his covers for the night. He might not even have all the clues he needs to solve this mystery anyway.

"… Later…. We've made good progress today…. At least I think we did…. Ugh…", he grunted as he rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"Well I think I'm done here…. Goodnight everyone. I'll see you all later I suppose…"

Just as he was about to enter through his automatic door to his room, his P DA rang on the table. He turned to look at it as it rang its small familiar tune that had been set to a more festive melody. Michael laughed as he remembered how he used to anticipate unexpected messages from his friends during his journey. He approached it and opened it to the inbox above the huge column of stolen Cipher information. The message was addressed to him from Eagun...


	5. Episode 3

Morning came to the Orre Region once again. The sun began to rise with its sunlit rays shining all over the deserts of the isolated region bringing a new day. All the while at the HQ Lab, Lily is busy preparing breakfast in her kitchen.

"Breakfast is ready!", echoed Lily's voice from the living room.

Jovi pried her eyes open at the sound of her mother's voice as she lay comfortable in the warmth of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before stretching her arms out. As she was about to pick herself off of her bed however, she fell back and closed her eyes to sleep half a minute more. Rubbing her face into her pillow and breathing through the soft fabric. Tucked in under her covers, she enjoyed that extended one minute of sleeping in until she slowly lazily pulled herself off of her mattress and placed her feet on the floor.

She stood up to stretch herself in her blue pajamas before proceeding to change out of them into her usual attire consisting of a blue pair of shorts, white dress skirt, and a blue button over-shirt. She walked out of her room through her automatic doors and was about to walk out of the living room into the residential wing's entrance hallway before remembering she had to brush her teeth.

After the quick act of keeping up with her daily morning dental care, she visited her Litwick sleeping in the corner of the living room with its light out as her Minun and Plusle were jumping at the automatic door to the hallway outside. They couldn't seem to get it open until Jovi approached it. Mimi and Pluplu scurried out and chased each other down the hallway into the empty lobby of the residential wing.

The blue sister went up the elevator before stepping on to the second floor and made an immediate right turn upon stepping out of the elevator. She walked through the automatic sliding door to the kitchen where Lily had already prepared Jovi a delicious bowl of ramen and soft boiled egg soup at a small table fit for two. Professor Krane was sitting on a couch watching the room's large flat-screen television showing re-runs of nature documentaries in Johto. Flocks of wild Pidgeys flying through the sky were shown on the screen.

Jovi approached the table and discovered beside her spoon was a blue folded up electronic device. When she inspected it, she discovered that it was her own P DA. Her name is laser etched on its bottom and pressing the release button to unfold it to reveal a single screen turned on to a profile picture of her beside her name and ID number with the amount of money she currently has displayed below it. The azure sister smiled to see her newly acquired travelling hardware.

"It's already been updated with everything Michael has in his besides his Inbox of course. No new trainer should be without the proper gear for a whole new adventure.", Krane said when he sensed Jovi's fascination with her own P DA.

"Thank you so much! I'll always cherish this! Does it have Michael already registered in its contacts?", she asked as she checked her messaging application while setting herself a fun reggae ringtone while she's at it.

"Yes! Although he may or may not be busy at the moment. He hasn't come back since last night when he left again towards Agate Village… he didn't get to tell me why he had to go in such a hurry though."

"He hasn't come back? Oh…. Well maybe I can…", just as Jovi was about to suggest messaging her older brother, the program on the satellite television was interrupted with a breaking news report from ONBS.

News Reporter Marcia is live at the scene in Agate Village near the cave entrance to the Relic Forest. Observing the background behind her, it seems there had been a battle that had taken place. Grass and vines have been burnt off the cavern wall.

"Last night, two mysterious figures had entered and asserted control over this village. In their attack, a few of the elderly residents of Agate have gone missing. The Myth Trainer, Eagun, fought back at one of the two invaders he describes as tall and graceful in her appearance but very sadistic in her intentions. She was accompanied by another character with concealed facial features who lead a squad of Pokémon that occupied the empty houses and pathways leading to the town's Relic Forest. Eagun described this person as silent and expressionless with the Pokémon under its care. He couldn't make out the details of the man with its armor and cloak concealing most of his details. Michael had arrived and cleared the town of the remaining hostile Pokémon that usurped control of it and, alongside Eagun, confronted the two criminals occupying the Relic Forest's Cavern."

Marcia then told Cameran her camera man to follow her into the cave where small fumes of smoke still rise from the charred earth. The roots on the ceiling are black and the stream of water that once divided the pathway in the cave is dried up. This must be where Michael had his battle against the two mysterious bombers.

"Our local heroes couldn't get their names, but when they had defeated them both in a Two versus Two Double Battle, the shady woman and her accomplice ran into the Relic Forest towards the sacred grove of Agate's history. Michael gave chase but when he set his eyes on the Relic in the center of its ancient platform he had discovered it was on the verge of bursting into a fiery explosion set off by a box of explosives. Thankfully Michael and Eagun escaped the blast's range before the inevitable happened."

Jovi and the Professor watched with silent disbelief as the live footage on the screen panned to the demolished ancient artifact that had once stood as an important monument in Orre's history. The trees surrounding the ancient grounds were blackened and shards of the relic were scattered everywhere. The sacred grove to Celebi has been desecrated in an anonymous raid.

"Authorities are now on the case to find these two criminals. And by authorities, I mean Michael, Eagun, and the few of ONBS remaining staff and volunteers as Chief Sherles and his deputy are no longer in service to Orre's peace. We will work day and night to keep our region safe….(even if there really isn't anything to protect at this point.)", Marcia mumbled to herself after concluding her live report.

"And now, back to your regularly scheduled imported program.", a female announcer said on a blank television screen before it suddenly turned to footage of Bellsprouts hiding under tall grass in the wilderness of Route 6 in the Kanto Region.

There was silence in the room. Jovi and Krane stood dumbfounded with silence by the unfortunate news. Jovi tried to remember the importance of the Relic and recalled what she could remember from the stolen data files that she read last night with her older brother. Cipher had wanted to destroy it to suppress its purifying power from being used against their Shadow Pokémon army. The blue haired novice trainer turned her thoughts away from the revelation and concluded that it's way too early to dwell on negativity. She sat down at her table with her egg ramen noodle soup with her P DA opened on her table for her to inspect.

As she was sipping the last bit of soup out of her bowl, her new reggae ringtone suddenly sounded off in her P DA. It was at that moment she realized she'd much rather prefer the disco beat ringtone instead, but regardless of her choice in ringtones, she examined who had messaged her in her inbox. Her brother has apparently messaged her.

"Good morning sister! If you're reading this, then I guess you got your P DA! Sorry I couldn't be there to answer any questions you might have about it. The functions and apps on my own P DA have been passed down to yours. Right now I'm waking up at Eagun's house. I won't sugar coat it, the purifying Relic in the forest is gone. I'll explain later when I get there. Strange things are definitely happening here. We better get ready for anything." read Michael's e-mail.

Just as she finished reading, the azure sister closed her P DA and finished what's left in her bowl before being approached by her mother walking out of the automatic sliding door. She was holding a tablet

"I hope you liked your breakfast. I was just going to tell you that I'm off to go investigate where the object landed outside within the forest. It seems when it pierced through the building and broke the Purify Chamber consoles it didn't just plunge into dirt and stop. It left a trail of broken trees and unsettled dirt. I suspect it may have behaved like a skipping stone over water."

"Oh? Okay! So you want me to come along?", Jovi assumed when she looked up at her mother from where she sat.

"If you'd like. I'll be waiting outside the lab entrance for you. I don't think it would be necessary but you can bring your Pokémon if you'd like.", Lily suggested to her daughter before heading towards the automatic sliding metal door.

A little later, Jovi had retrieved her Plusle, Minun, and Litwick before she walked out the front door of the residential wing to accompany her mother in their trip through the forest. Jovi was well dressed in her blue over shirt and jean shorts as her mother walked in her outdoor clothes consisting of a dark purple overcoat over her usual attire.

The professor and novice trainer ventured forth into the rustling emptied forest. Fallen trees and shifted dirt marked the trail they followed. Looking up at the sky, overcast clouds blanketed the sky and shielded them from the sun's rays. Jovi didn't mind the darkening clouds but she would have preferred seeing the blue sky today.

"Oh…. Huh…", expressed Lily as she saw something across the tall grass.

"Hm? What is it Mom?", asked the blue haired daughter trying to look in the same direction she was.

"Over there behind the bushes.", Lily answered pointing beyond the foliage.

Jovi looked the way she was pointing but saw nothing. She ventured through the foliage to see a simple clearing of grass with nothing in it. The blue girl turned to her mother with a curious look on her face. There was nothing there.

"What was there? Huh?"," she questioned her mother.

"Over there was the place your father would have conducted an experiment. He found a place where he would have tried to make a grove much like the one in Agate Village. He thought he could make a purifying Relic himself.", said Lily with sporting a small smile over the small wave of nostalgic memories that suddenly came back to her.

"What? Really? Over there?"

"Yes, but he didn't even try because he realized he needed the power the ancient Orre people used to build the purifying Relic…. That and he had no idea how to sculpt shapes out of giant boulders. So he decided to make a machine instead."

"Oh? Awh hah I bet Daddy would have made a pretty good sculpture if he was one… Say how does Purification work anyway?", the blue girl questioned once again as she was genuinely curious about the science behind the Chamber and Agate's Relic.

"Let's explain on our way.", Lily suggested before they both started walking back on the trail of the unidentified crashing object

"Purification is… the process of undoing the lock on a Shadow Pokémon's heart. It's not known how it feels to have a closed heart, but my husband theorized that it's felt much like having a depression but on a more unstable level. Unable to feel happiness and unable to recognize positive feelings, any trace of happiness a Shadow Pokémon once knew would be gone. Memories of a happier time would be locked away and replaced with a certain feeling that drives them with the urge to burst into mindless violence. Your father also theorized that the longer the Pokémon has lived its life prior to having its heart closed the stronger and more violent the Shadow Pokémon could be. On the subject of purifying Shadow Pokémon however, the Purify Chamber works on the basis of using music to soothe Shadow Pokémon ready to be cured and to have the Purifier who has worked hard on developing a bond with the readied Shadow Pokémon undo the final lock. It is this bond between the Purifier and the Shadow Pokémon that allows it to be able to be purified in the first place. The Purifier works to gradually open the Pokémon's heart as he keeps the Pokémon in his party or sends it out into battle. Any sort of affection or sign of bonding a trainer could give to its Shadow Pokémon gradually undoes the lock bringing Pokémon closer to becoming pure again. And thus the process is finished upon Purification…. Does that make sense?"

"That was a lot of words…. I guess it makes sense… but then what about Lugia then? How did Michael know how to purify it?", Jovi responded with a question before jumping across a small stream after her mother.

"That… we actually don't know. My guess is that when the tempo of every set within the Purify Chamber reached its maximum with a large amount of performing active Pokémon on standby to assist in purification, it must have created a powerful enough emotional burst to pry open Shadow Lugia's heart…. Thinking about it now… all of the hearts involved in purifying Shadow Lugia, including Michael's, must have provided a strong enough bond to undo everything Cipher had done to Lugia's heart as corrupted as it was. They all created a huge single burst of emotion… almost like a powerful Thunderbolt attack by an Electric Type Pokémon that used Charge thirty-seven times prior."

"Huh…. I never thought about it that way… so if another Shadow Pokémon like Shadow Lugia is created again all it needs is a large group of caring hearts to show it has friends? Pokémon Friends and its Trainer?", asked the blue novice trainer to ensure she understood her mother's theory.

"Yes! That sounds correct. That's a type of purification you hopefully won't need to see again...", concluded Lily on the topic as they approached a large crater dug into the earth splitting trees and bushes away from each other.

The two gazed down at the large crater. A cold smell was in the air and a small cloud of smoke was rising from the center of where the object should have laid to rest. Lily was intrigued while Jovi pondered how this related to her brother's experience with the unidentified object in the abandoned factory-new Cipher vehicle in the desert.

"I'll take a closer look. You can wait here if you want.", Lily said to her daughter before carefully stepping down the tossed dirt slope.

Jovi complied and stood waiting as she watched her mother carefully approach the center of the crater. The blue novice trainer felt a little chill in the air as she watched. Her instincts told her to scan the area around her for anything suspicious. She couldn't tell why but she felt something wasn't sitting right in their environment. Looking at the bushes and trees that surrounded the crater, there appeared to be an opening in the wall of plant life that looked big enough for a human or a Pokémon to approach. Furthermore from the opening there seemed to be a small trace of prints coming to or from the center of the crater. It's hard to tell exactly, but it feels like they weren't the first ones to inspect this crater.

"Curious… I don't see anything here! Maybe it's slightly buried under the dirt. Hold on a moment."

The azure haired girl watched her mother dig through the dirt in hopes of finding something. As she dug, Jovi looked at the dirt slope that was in front of her. It started shifting with dirt and pebbles falling off of it until a pair of eyes popped out of the surface followed by the sound of the earth's crust popping.

"Uh oh! Mom! MOM! LOOK OUT!", Jovi shouted before she could see the Pokémon out of the dusty clouds.

Lily realized too late her daughter's warning and was surrounded by five small foreign purple quadrupedal insect Pokémon that were burrowed within the dirt slopes of the crater. She panicked and tried to climb back out the way she came before her feet were caught by the stingers and claw tails of the small foreign Pokémon. Jovi took action and sent out her Plusle and Minun to fight.

"Mimi! Use Spark on one of those Pokémon! Pluplu!, use Thundershock on one of the Pokémon that caught Mom's feet! I need to use Seth's Scanner to see what these Pokémon are."

The Minun tackled one of the purple bug-like Pokémon with electric sparks flying as Plusle shot a burst of electricity at one of the Pokémon that had Lily by her feet. Jovi quickly whipped open the scanner and activated it to reveal the foreign foes.

"Skorupi: A Poison and Bug Type Scorpion Pokémon originating from the Sinnoh Region? These Pokémon aren't from around here! I guess that sort of goes without saying…. Oh? Hey!", Jovi exclaimed as she realized Mimi was surrounded and repeatedly jabbed at by the small group of Skorupi when she was reading the top screen of her device.

Fortunately, Lily was able to pick herself up off the slope with her attackers turning their attention to Mimi and Pluplu and run out of the crater towards her daughter. One of the Skorupi saw her attempt to escape and jumped at her with the claw on its tail open and stingers ready to stab. Jovi immediately shouted for Pluplu to intercept it in the air with a Thundershock attack. The Skorupi was halted in midair as it was electrocuted by the Plusle's attack. It fell on its back and tumbled downward into the center of the crater.

Lily ran by her daughter's side as she observed her return Mimi to her Poke Ball. The three remaining Skorupi rushed Pluplu and angrily jabbed their poison stings into her. Jovi quickly sent out her Litwick and returned her Pusle after the consecutive poison strikes landed on her without time for Jovi to react.

The Litwick sat on the ground and awaited its trainer's directions. The blue novice trainer quickly remembered and shouted an attack that the Litwick knew. As the Skorupi came crawling up the crater, the Candle Pokemon used Flame Burst on one of the three wild foes.

The fire ball burst on the targeted Skorupi and the embers splashed on to the other two Skorupi that were backing him up. The super effective attack slowed the Scorpion Pokemon slightly before a second Flame Burst finished them all off in a blast of flames. The Skorupi rolled back down to the center of the crater and scattered as a few were still running with small flames on their claw tails. A single Skorupi laid fainted in the center of the crater.

"Wow, you won!", Lily congratulated her daughter, " You handled that really well! And that new Pokémon you have is pretty powerful too! Not to mention Mimi and Pluplu even if they couldn't stand against that number of Pokémon… but does this mean Wild Pokémon might still exist in Orre? With a new foreign species of Pokémon at that? What is the meaning of this group of Pokémon? Perhaps they migrated here…. But what happened to the object? So many questions…"

"Gee I wish I knew, Mom. But if Wild Pokémon is coming back then that must be good news for all of us here right? Especially if they're new kinds of Pokémon we've never seen before, right?", asked the blue haired girl as she returned her Litwick as it was curiously looking down at the single fainted Skorupi in the crater.

"I believe you're right there my daughter. It also means we can probably stay here and search for more undiscovered hiding places for any Wild Pokémon that might have migrated to this region. I should probably cancel our flight to Sinnoh now if our work here isn't done yet. Perhaps we'll see Wild Pokémon returning again sometime soon."

"Huh? You bought us a flight to the Sinnoh Region? When did you do that?", Jovi asked surprised to hear of this just now.

"Oh! I didn't tell you yet that's right! Nor did I tell Michael about it... Well earlier today I bought tickets for all of us to ride a private airship to the Sinnoh Region so we could start a new life there where Wild Pokémon roam for us to continue our research. I felt bad about ordering the tickets knowing that we spent so much of our life here in Orre but I had thought that this would probably just be a new chapter in our lives. If you saw me earlier and thought I looked a little sad that's why. I was having second thoughts."

"Oh? Huh…. So you didn't hear about the Agate Village's Relic being destroyed on the news before we left here?", Jovi queried.

She immediately saw the surprised expression on Lily's face showing that she had no idea there had been an attack on one of Orre's most important monuments dating back to the unknown era of the region's history. She was dumbfounded in further disbelief as Jovi further explained what had been happening and what she and her brother experienced so far. She explained the details of Michael's strange dream and the encounter with the angry Slaking in Gateon Port to the re-investigation of the abandoned Cipher Lab in the desert including her encounter with Nascour's Ghost in the deepest part of the installation. The message he gave both of them before he disappeared sent chills up both of their spines as soon as Jovi said it out loud.

"'There is no stopping what is set in motion. We have seen this play out in his dream. Soon everything will be changed for the better.'…. that's what he said to me before he disappeared without a trace after Michael tried to chase him."

"That is... Wow I'm sorry you had to remember that. That's quite an adventure you've had though I'm glad you weren't harmed. I don't suppose you know what he meant by that?"

"I-I don't know! I'm actually a little creeped out right now just remembering it... He wanted to take me to the Ghost World, this 'other side', and I was so afraid if it weren't for my brother saving me at the last moment. I sort of want to go home now. This forest is giving me the creeps.", Jovi nervously admitted as tried not to look at the empty shadows in the forests that surrounded them. Knowing that somebody might have already beaten them to the crashed object and retreated to the unknown forest filled her with a certain sense of dread as if she might be watched even now as she waits for her mother to respond.

"Alright. As much as I'd love to stay out here and explore some more surrounding the crashed object, I agree. It might be dangerous to be outside if we don't even know what is happening in our own forest.", Lily agreed before holding her daughter's hand.

Before they'd leave together, Jovi turned to look at the Skorupi left fainted in the center of the crater. She thought about the possibility of catching the strange new Pokémon but then she discovered it had scurried away in their conversation. She didn't have any Poke Balls on her so she couldn't catch it even if she wanted to.

"That's too bad… Well maybe we'll see some more new Pokémon later. And I'll borrow some of my brother's Poke Balls to be ready from now on. I don't think he'll mind if I take some."

Anxious to get home, the mother and daughter walked down the path they came. Jovi made sure not to remember Nascour's red eyes piercing the darkness of the Archive room in the abandoned laboratory whenever she had to glimpse at shadows in the forest. Making their way, they passed the nonexistent Relic grounds of their deceased scientist traversed across the foliage ridden path to make it back safely to their HQ Lab.

"It was so strange. The woman and her sidekick were wearing dark concealing uniforms I've never seen before. They could have been part of Cipher at one point now that I think about it. There was one that was tall and buff looked like he might have been a Cipher Commander Class in their ranks, but he his suit and armor covering his entire body and lack of speaking at all leaves me ambiguous as to who he could be.", Michael explained to the Professor that was once his old mentor.

"Well maybe it doesn't sound too strange. Maybe he's trained to remain silent? If this is a member of Cipher we are talking about. Who knows what variants of foot soldiers they may have intended to create back then…", Krane replied offering the possibility of revived secret projects involving varied trainer classes in their garrisons of peons.

"He wouldn't even talk to his Pokémon to give them directions. He just stood and walked really weird like he's carrying a lot of weight on him. He never sent out a Pokémon out of a Poke Ball, all he did was just stand there and watch his Pokémon try to beat my team out of that metal mask on his face.", the red headed teen further explained before he and the professor directed their attention to the automatic sliding metal door to the workshop open to Jovi and Lily having returned from their trip into the forest.

"There you are! So you two went into the forest to find whatever it was that crashed through the building right? Did you find anything?"

"We followed and found where it crashed but in its place we found…", Lily stopped explaining to let Jovi speak.

"We found a bunch of Wild Pokémon hiding in the crater. They were all a single new species of Pokémon never seen in Orre before! They were called Skorupi, here have a look!", she said before opening her P DA to opened the Strategy Memo to the newly registered encounter.

Michael was happy to see her with her new blue P DA the Professor promised to give her. He received it from his sister with its screen opened to the Strategy Memo displaying a Skorupi and its basic data for devising strategies against or with the Pokémon. He reacted to how different it looked from any usual Pokémon he has seen in Orre before, but he was taken back to how he reacted to seeing a Bonsly for the first time on the S.S. Libra. As weird as they looked from their foreign origination, they are still Pokémon just like any other Pokémon he has seen.

"Huh…. So a group of Wild Skorupi was out there?", he asked passing the P DA back to his sister.

"Yeah! They attacked us, but we won with the help of my Pokémon! It was a quick battle and Mimi and Pluplu couldn't beat them but my Litwick was able to blast them all with his fire attack. And with the type advantage, we won! ", Jovi proclaimed the conditions of her victory against the Wild horde of foreign Pokémon with a smile.

"Really? That's awesome! It's only been a few days since you've officially became a trainer but you're already turning out to be a pretty good Pokémon Trainer so far sister! You've beaten and held out against some tough opponents already. I'm sure you'll grow to be just as great as me some day if you keep at this rate.", the Michael encouraged and supported his younger sister happy to know she's capable of acquiring her own victories.

"Hee hee! Thank you big brother! But I think I'll need to catch more Pokémon for us to battle tougher Pokémon and trainers. Mind if I could borrow a few Poke Balls to catch something if I come across another Wild Pokémon again?"

"Sure! I have plenty of Poke Balls you can use. They might be a little dusty, but they're still functional. But, would you mind telling me what makes you think Wild Pokémon are coming back?"

"The site had a colony of Wild Pokémon living in the soil. All the Pokémon that made it their habitat were that new foreign species Jovi just showed you.", Lily explained to her son before Jovi could answer her brother's question herself.

His eyebrows were raised with curiosity over the strange revelation. The possibility of small migrating colonies of foreign Pokémon coming to Orre seems very farfetched. The fact that they've only found Wild Pokémon just now after a little less than four years of Orre being void of all wild life, and the fact that the Pokémon is not even Kanto, Johto, or Hoenn in its origination like the original dwellers of Orre's nature, seems very unreal. Acknowledging the Pokémon were hiding in the crater caused by the object that presumably came out of the abandoned factory-new Cipher hover truck in the desert also suggests that there is most definitely something mysterious and wrong at work within the barren region.

"That's interesting… I wonder if it has anything to do with what we've encountered so far. I can confirm that there is a threat here in Orre seeing as they just blew up Agate's Relic grove. Nett from the ONBS team told me in an email that he's sent a group of investigators to the grove to retrieve any clues as to who could be behind this. They told me shrapnel might help in some way. They also told me to go to Phenac City to find the Mayor and ask him for any useful information on Cipher's tactics of attack. I'll probably have to hit the road again after I've readied myself.", Michael briefed his family including Professor Krane.

The room was silent for a moment. Krane was deep in thought about the current events as Lily was wondering the possibility of another crisis. Jovi wasn't sure what to say but she wondered if she could come with her brother or not. Michael suddenly broke the silence again.

"But this is nothing I can't handle. With the help of my incredible team of Pokémon and friends, we'll find these criminals and give em what for and send them packing back to where they came from! Who's with me?", he asked with a determined look on his face as he held his metal plated clenched fist in the air.

Professor Krane chuckled and Lily smiled a little while Jovi was ecstatic to see her brother ready to charge into the fray and beat the bad guys. Krane asked him what he and Lily could do to help while he's out investigating. Michael immediately thought of a task Krane and Lily would be capable of doing that suited their abilities.

"Use my Global Link Emulator downstairs to do as much research on these foreign species of undocumented Pokémon outside of Orre. Their behaviors, their environments, and attack patterns and types are a few topics of research. Pokémon usually from Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos are the Pokémon we need to know about the most. It's very likely that we'll be encountering these foreign Pokémon in our journey, so any information you can find will be useful for us to see in our Strategy Memos once you send us the data via email. Sound alright?"

"...That could work. If we also know where these new Pokémon make their habitats maybe we would have an easier time finding more colonies of Wild Pokémon with such information. Also, we could share what we find with your friends at ONBS so they'll also be prepared! Theoretically speaking of course… it should work!", Krane exclaimed as he adjusted his glasses.

"Then it's settled! If we gain information on our new possible Wild Pokémon we can prepare ourselves for any encounter we might face! Although the threat of new Shadow Pokémon might still exist if there really is another organization trying to prepare this region for the third coming of Cipher's original plan. These foreign Pokémon might pose a bigger threat if they were to fall in their hands.", Lily said to Krane and her two children.

"Let's get started then! Everyone should get to their stations while I prepare the Global Link Emulator to establish a connection for the entire lab.", Michael proclaimed before Krane and Lily proceeded to exit the room and ride the elevator to their offices on the second floor.

Michael and Jovi stepped down the trapdoor staircase to Michael's workshop. The red head approached a set of dusty unused lockers sitting in the corner of the entry room. He popped all four of the lockers open to reveal his stored inventory consisting of everything a Pokémon trainer would need in his journey. Medicine, Poke Balls, Food, and Trainer Accessories and Supplies were waiting inside the dusty lockers for Jovi to examine.

"Take your pick! I'll be back in a moment.", Michael offered his sister his inventory before proceeding to his workshop to boot up the Global Link Emulator.

Jovi approached the lockers and scanned the items she could take with her. She first checked the pile of Poke Balls that were sitting on a shelf in the left-most locker. She realized that if she were to have an inventory she would need more than the pockets in her garments. She spotted an old yellow bag hanging below the shelf of Poke Balls but she was unsure if she should take it for herself. Thinking back to how generous and helpful her older brother has been for her, she came to the conclusion that he wouldn't mind if she borrowed this old unused backpack. Rearranging the items she had with her to place into her new bag, she rediscovered the Smoke Ball she had found in the mysterious purple item chest found at the gateway to Gateon Port. Thinking back, she could have used this to help her mom and herself escape the Skorupi attack earlier today.

"I guess I could have…. But my Pokémon wouldn't have gotten EXP from the battle if I ran away. Yeah! … Uh even if it was just Litwick that didn't end up fainting in the end and he ended up getting all the EXP… I'll try to keep my Pokémon from fainting next time.", Jovi said issuing the solution to the problem she would likely encounter in the future.

Jovi started digging around her big brother's stashed inventory. She found a wide variety of Poke Balls but decided to take only fifteen. Another Super Potion was found and placed into her new Medicine Pocket. An X Attack and X Defend was found and placed in the new Items Pocket. A set of Poke Snacks were found but it looked moldy so Jovi didn't dare touch it.

"What's this?", Jovi asked herself out loud when she spotted a book positioned up straight against the wall of the last locker.

It had no title, but upon examination of its contents it was discovered to be Michael's unused scrap book. The pictures dated back to shortly after Cipher was completely disbanded. The red headed hero went around the region taking pictures with everyone involved that helped him ultimately defeat Cipher. The very last photo that was added was a huge group picture of friends Michael has made on his journey and family gathered in front of the HQ Lab facing the camera with himself standing in the center beside his sister. Jovi couldn't help but smile at this picture when she saw all the different people she could recognize again including Dr. Kaminko and Chobin.

"Watcha got there?", her brother asked when he returned from his office to see her at his lockers.

"Oh! Uh I just found this scrap book here. How long did you have this in there?", Jovi queried her brother.

"What? Oh I was actually referring to that yellow backpack, but what do you have there?", Michael asked again as he walked up beside his sister to see the big family picture.

When he laid his eyes on the image held in Jovi's hands, he was immediately taken back to their moment of celebration. Everyone was invited for a party to celebrate Orre's new found peace. Michael snickered a little when he recognized Team Snagem's leader standing in the back.

"All these people... back when we all worked together we solved our common problems and helped each other with our own. Heheh I see Gonzap back there! I remember he wanted to reform Snagem after failing to keep my Snag Machine when he found out it wouldn't fit his arm and later helped me raid the Cipher Key Lair. The ONBS team helped me get information on Cipher's Shadow Pokémon Army…. I could go on for hours on what all these people did to help… but there's no time to waste. I was told by Secc that Phenac City's Mayor wants me to escort him to Pyrite Town. He doesn't feel safe in his own city anymore."

"Really? Why's that?", asked Jovi.

"I don't know. Secc didn't tell me but the Mayor just doesn't want to stay for whatever reason. You can come with me if you'd like. Maybe we can go investigate the room that was mentioned on that card we found last night! I wouldn't mind taking you along.", stated Michael with a smile at the thought of taking his sister for her to gain more experience as a trainer.

"Hee hee! Sure! I'll go with you. I'm ready to go when you are", Jovi said as she adjusted her new yellow backpack full of items on her back.

And so after readying themselves again with Micheal rearranging his reliable Pokémon Team with the rest of his Pokémon in his virtual ranch built into his PC and Jovi making sure Mimi, Pluplu, and Litwick are fully healed; they rode their vehicles out of the forest and on to the dusty desert again. They drove beside each other at a distance as they kept their speed kicking up sand in their tracks.

The heat of the Orre sun reached the siblings even though the sky was kept in a blanket of gray clouds. The blue sister kept her hands steady on the handles of her blue hover bike as she looked up at the sky. She could see the darkness in the clouds growing, as if it were about to rain. This strange presence of temperature and possible precipitation seemed a little strange and made her wonder if she should ask her brother about it.

"Maybe rain in the desert isn't as strange as it sounds…", Jovi thought to herself as she continued to stay close to her brother as they sped across the sand.

After a slightly tedious amount of driving across the desert, the siblings arrived at the southern gate of the dried up oasis city. Phenac City seems to have seen better days. Michael was expecting to hear the ambient sound of rushing water coming down the various streams and fountains within the once precious city of marble, but upon closer examination, despite having been filled with water two days prior, the entire city has been drained of all its water.

Michael stepped forward across the front gate towards the dried up fountain sitting in the center of the empty plaza. Jovi followed as she looked around the emptied city. She could see one of the city's palm trees has already started to wilt and die due to the lack of water and immense heat.

Doors to some of the resident housings seemed to have been left open. The Pokémon Center's Poke Ball Hologram that once hovered above itself stopped working. The neon sign of the Poke Mart next door has been burnt and has not been tended to for a long time.

"…. I could have sworn this place wasn't …. This… too long ago? …. Or maybe I'm just…. I don't…", Michael contradicted with himself with his voice being the only thing heard in the eerily quiet water city.

"Do you suppose Justy is still here?", questioned Jovi as she scanned the emptied plaza.

"I doubt it… by now he must have left for greener pastures with the decline in Pokémon Trainers and Pokémon in general…", Michael answered before walking around the dried fountain and stepping up the stairs to the second town plaza with his sister following behind.

They approached the steps to the Pre-Gym in the center of the second plaza and immediately headed to the Western part of the city. The two trainers arrived at the Mayor's fine abode near the Western Gate. The two were just about to approach the mayor's automatic front door when they heard the automatic door of the Pre-Gym suddenly opened to break the silence for a moment.

Michael watched with Jovi close to him as this scene seemed reminiscent of the time Cipher occupied Phenac City by replacing their citizens with Peons in disguise. He half expected to see the Hexagon Brothers emerge from the Pre-Gym and sound off before taking their positions around the city to block his way.

Michael waited with his sister joining him. They waited and watched with anticipation in their hearts for what could possibly be coming out to greet them, but nobody came. It seemed as if the door opened on its own without a person to trigger its sensors.

"….Weird…", Michael expressed his thoughts on the anomaly.

"Spooky?", Jovi suggested a different description

"Nahh. Probably just a malfunction…"

"Totally not a ghost? Like Nascour's Ghost? Back at that lab?"

"Oh uh… nevermind. I'm open to anything at this point."

Suddenly the automatic door for the Mayor's house opened! The sudden sound of the door opening scared the brother and sister out of their minds briefly before they both regained themselves. Looking at who was at the door, Michael instantly recognized the man. Mayor Trest was there to greet them looking a bit nervous.

"He-hello! M-Michael. Please. C-Come in.", Trest offered as he seemed to be acting odd.

"Alright? Aren't we going to Pyrite Town? Do you have your car ready?", Michael asked.

"I do and d-don't. Please come in… please… they might see you."

"Who?", Michael asked again before seeing Jovi rush into the house without hesitation.

A short time after, the siblings and the mayor were inside the living room. Trest sat at his office chair as Michael and Jovi sat on the couch on the other side of the room. They watched the mayor scout out the window looking for anything suspicious before returning his attention to the two trainers.

"Secc told me you could help me leave, but I can't. You see… I discovered too late that my car battery has been stolen…", Trest admitted.

"What?! Really?", the red headed teen exclaimed in shock.

"Yes. And I've been hearing footsteps outside my home the past few nights. Without the sound of rushing water, you can hear everything that moves in this city. Doors have been opening and closing on their own and I keep hearing these whispers in the far reaches of this empty city. I don't know how to deal with this. I think this city might be haunted or under siege by an otherworldly army…"

Michael was silent as he didn't know how to respond to such a conclusion. Jovi could only think about if this in any way could be related to the incident with Nascour's Ghost yesterday. Trest started speaking again.

"I keep hearing most of the footsteps coming from the Colosseum. I'm too afraid to investigate for myself… I'm sorry to ask but could you find some way to retrieve my car battery or possibly get a replacement? Maybe the Poke Mart or some sort of machine has a suitable replacement… I'm so sorry."

"It's alright sir. We'll find a battery and bring it back here."

"Thank you. I'll stay here as I know they won't bother me if I keep an eye on the door. Just be sure to come back before nightfall as I don't want to be driving in the desert at night...", he requested once more.

Michael stood up off the couch and faced his sister.

"Are you going to come along or stay here? I understand if you're creeped out or scared, but I promise you'll always be safe with me…," said Michael trying to forget the moment of weakness in that claim when he get separated from his sister at the abandoned laboratory that lead to a frightful encounter.

"Of course I'll come! But my heart might be racing a lot when we go out there exploring…. Hey wait a minute. Don't you have something to ask the Mayor? Big brother?", Jovi queried.

At first Michael didn't know what she was talking about. But then he suddenly remembered one of the original reasons why they wanted to come to Phenac City. He pulled the SIM E-Card that was abandoned at the edge of the forest out of Key Items Pocket in his bag and showed it to the cowering mayor.

"Excuse me sir but what do you know about this?", Michael asked showing him the plastic card in his hand.

Trest looked at the card in the teen's hand for a moment and took it as he kept trying to figure out what it was. He looked on the back of the SIM E-Card to see the small instructions stating to pass the Green Gate in the Phenac City to arrive at the VR Battle Room. When he saw this he was able to recall something that didn't happen nine years ago.

"Now I remember what this is…. When Es Cade was Phenac City's Mayor, a hired team of Pokémon Scientists invented Virtual Trainers which we now call today SIM Trainers for battle simulations. There were plans to produce Membership Scan Cards that can access a special room inside the city's Colosseum. The plan fell short when Es Cade found out to be Cipher and was apprehended… the room was never built but the technology of VR Trainers remained and was sold to other factions that later renamed the technology the Battle SIMs. The system back then was to use cards that held data for different trainers, but today we use Battle CDs to hold data for the artificial trainers. There are more differences but I can't remember off hand…. I wouldn't bother investigating where it should have been built. You'll find nothing but a brick wall lining the corridor past the Green Gate.", Trest said giving back the card.

This new insight on the history of the Battle SIM Trainers surprised Michael. He would never have known had he not found this card half buried in dust in the middle of nowhere. But then he realized that this begged an important question.

"If it never happened… why does this exist?", the red headed teen asked holding the card up with a confused look on his face.

Trest gave a shrug and shook his head.

"To be honest, I wouldn't know. I've heard that this town was built by Es Cade's grandfather supposedly. But that statement was accepted before he turned out to be a Cipher boss. Maybe there is something more to this town than we know….Which might be why there are invisible people outside activating automatic doors and stepping all over the place... I beg of you, please find a new car battery or find some way to get me out of here.", the mayor pleaded as he darted his attention to the window again to look for the men that aren't there.

"Alright. But first we're going to do some investigating as we look. You ready Jovi?", Michael turned to his sister assuring she's ready to venture into known territory with unknowable conditions.

"I'm ready if you are… but I'm going to stick real close to you if you don't mind brother… heh…", she said standing up with her yellow backpack on her back.

"Alright. We'll be right back sir! Let's roll."

The siblings walked out the automatic door and felt the mayor lock it behind them. Despite being in the middle of the day, though cloudy, the empty town unnerved them both. Jovi made sure to keep by her brother's side as she tried not to get nervous by the thought of ghost encounters in a ghost town.

Michael turned towards the Pre-Gym building and started walking forward while cautiously listening and looking for anything out of the ordinary. Jovi followed him around the plaza to the Eastern Gate where a single house stood with its automatic door open. The older brother approached it and entered through the open door into the home.

"Hello? Is anybody here?"

Nobody answered. The interior of the house seems to have been stripped of all signs of life. All the furniture was gone. The stove and cupboards have been removed from their places. Michael found it odd that whoever lived here before found it absolutely necessary to take their entire kitchen with them, but he can't pretend to know how other people make their decisions. Jovi stood at the door and watched her brother explore the room further for half a minute before he finally concluded that the house was empty.

"Well the stolen battery isn't here…"

"What made you think it would be kept in here?", Jovi asked as she stood guard at the door.

"I didn't. But whenever I have to explore someplace in a journey it's best to comb the entire area for items or clues that could prove useful later. Haven't I ever told you about the golden rule of adventuring as a trainer?"

"Oh? What's that?", the younger sister asked before looking out the door.

"….uhm I forgot how it went…. Heh. But it goes along the lines of making sure you don't miss out on any item chest or clue that might be in an area. Maybe you'll find something valuable for your Pokémon like Rare Candies or Max Revives.", he said scratching the back of his head in embarrassment for having forgotten the golden rule that apparently exists.

Before he could step towards his sister, he was startled to see her suddenly panic to what she saw outside. She ran beside him and pointed at the door while saying with a stutter, "S-Something just moved! L-like something just…"

In response, Michael walked out of the open door to look where Jovi was pointing. She guided his vision toward the Pre-Gym building and waved her finger about indicating the space she saw it.

"I-It was there! The sun got bright and I saw something weird in the air moving. Like glass in water or something.", explained the frightened blue girl.

Michael thought about what she said as he scanned the town in his vision. He looked up at the sky to see the sun was still covered by a sheet of gray clouds. They both heard another door opening and closing somewhere in the lower plaza.

"You heard that too right?"

"Yes but nobody's here…. I know it's a little spooky but how about we go check the Colosseum?", Michael suggested a path of action.

"I go where you go, but I feel like we're always being watched brother…"

After mustering up the courage to continue, the siblings made their way to the once beautiful Phenac Colosseum north of the city rising past a flight of stairs. They entered the front gateway to see the emptied front desk where a woman used to sit and would have guided tourists in their shut down Colosseum. Jovi kept closer to her brother upon realizing an empty deep pool of darkness surrounded their fenceless paths.

"Why are there dark pits of gloom and despair in this room?", Jovi asked hysterically as she clutched on to her brother's right arm with her eyes looking down at the abysses.

"Those aren't pits. They're water tanks that apparently dried up. This room used to be so cool with the sound of rushing water and beautiful fountains. But now it's just…. Dead I guess… don't worry about it.", said Michael to his sister with a pat on her shoulder.

"Dead? Are there ghosts in this Colosseum too?", Jovi asked trying not to creep herself out with the thought of hearing more unexplained noises.

"Oh don't worry about that! After what we saw back in Cipher's Lab, who cares if there might be a few loose spirits wandering about? You battled with a ghost and if a ghost trainer needs to send out its own Pokémon to fight then I'm going to have a blast beating people beyond the grave! Haha! Uh that sounded a little morbid now that I think about it. Heh sorry.", apologized the older brother scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Hahah it's alright… I don't feel as scared now… but this dim place still gives me the creeps."

"Yeah me too…. The power must be on the verge of going out, but the gates to the Colosseum itself might still be passable. Want to see if we can find the VR room past the green one?"

After Jovi agreed with the proposal to investigate the Green Gate, the two took the path to their left and crossed between the two empty dark pits into the tall Green Gate that stood ominously in the darkened room.

As they approached, the Gates doors slowly slid away from each other. Michael made sure to have a quick look at the directions on the membership card before proceeding. The darkness beyond the gate was pitch black and completely impossible to see in. As ominous as it seemed, Michael walked forward with the presence of an uneasy fear of the unknown as his sister followed very closely behind him with the glow of the Snag Machine illuminating their space.

Michael was feeling the wall to his left with his metal mounted hand as he walked. Although he felt occasional indentations, he could not find the doorway described on the card. Before he knew it, they had already arrived at the Western entrance to the Colosseum's emptied stadium.

Sunlight from a large skylight in the ceiling illuminated the battlefield and provided the siblings a clear vison on the emptied banner-less viewing stands on the far surrounding walls and a single dark figure standing in the center of the battlefield.

"Who's that?", Jovi asked pointing at the figure.

"I don't know. I'll take a closer look.", Michael responded before he started walking forward towards the person.

The figure seemed to be facing away from the approaching protagonists. The shady character had a cloak that turned slightly familiar before he turned and plainly revealed himself with a confused expression on his face.

"Oh? Hello again Michael! What brings you here?", Seth questioned and greeted him.

"Me? I should be asking that question to you! What business do you have being here?", Michael interrogated him with questions.

"Am I not allowed to visit places that hold nostalgic value to me? I only wanted to see if there were any souls left in Phenac to present my magic show. Hello Jovi.", the gray spiked haired young man greeted the blue sister now catching up to her brother.

"Hai!", she greeted back with a smile.

"But I was surprised to see that this city has been completely deserted with its water supply having dried up. Doors have been opening on their own and strange distortions in the air kept appearing and disappearing. So I took it upon myself to investigate whatever it is that's causing these anomalies."

"So these 'ghosts' don't have anything to do with you?", Michael asked again not sure if he should trust this cloaked man who claims to be from Orre.

"Of course not… I'm assuming you're here to investigate as well?"

"We are here to take Mayor Trest to Pyrite Town, but his car battery is missing and we need to find a replacement."

"Mayor Trest? I don't remember having a mayor with that name when I first came here years ago… I suppose with the events that have happened recently and this haunting of strange occurrences here and there's no blaming him for wanting to leave his city… though I question why he hasn't left earlier…"

"Could you help us find a car battery?", Jovi asked the magician before seeing the slight look of disapproval by her older brother. She didn't see any harm in asking for assistance.

"I could. I suppose it wouldn't hinder my schedule if I took some time to help you two with your task.", Seth answered.

Michael didn't say anything to object to this notion. He watched him join the party ready to aid him in any way he can. Seeing Jovi put her trust in Seth convinced Michael to try to remove any feeling of distrust with the magician despite their previous conflict and undesirable terrifying experience at the Krabby Club in Gateon Port. However now he will keep his eye on him as they'd explore the empty city together.

"You wouldn't know where someone would keep their Car Batteries would you?", asked Michael reluctantly

"If I were to guess… the Pre-Gym would be the place I'd look. It appears to be a building that could be used to hide something important… but then again so does this Colosseum, but I assure you I haven't seen anything besides the anomalies.", the blue eyed young man said as he stood watching the empty seats on the walls of the colosseum.

"Would you happen to know about this?", Michael showed Seth the membership card.

He held the card up to the level of his eyes to examine it. The card intrigued him as he flipped the piece of plastic repeatedly a few times. He gave it back to Michael before he responded…

"I can't say that I know anything about this VR Room for early SIM Battles. But I do know that this card must be very rare and hard to find. I suggest you keep it with you until such time you see fit to sell it or decorate with it. I couldn't care less what you do with it. It's up to you."

"Alright… I hope you won't mind me asking you questions on occasion. Not that I suspect you or anything…"

"I don't care. Go right on ahead."

The trio ventured back out into the darkened entrance. Walking out in front of the Colosseum's entrance where they can overlook the entire city. The sun shone through the clouds briefly as they stood. In the sunlight, Michael caught a glimpse of white figures idling in the streets before disappearing under the shade of the clouds.

"Did you see that?", the red headed protagonist asked his sister.

"See what?", responded Jovi looking in the same direction her brother was.

"There were these… human like figures just standing around the city's streets. I could have sworn I saw them when the sun just started shining through…"

"Is that so?…", Seth added.

"Yeah…. They're down there just standing around…."

"But we can't see them? Oh…. That's a little creepy…", Jovi responded to her brother's discovery.

"Do you think they'd be bothered if we just walked by them?", Michael asked turning to Seth.

"You probably already walked by them by just coming up here… Who's to say there wasn't one just standing around in the lobby we just left? I'm willing to believe that if you don't bother them, they won't bother you for the time being….", the cloaked magician responded.

"Eugh that's very creepy!", Jovi expressed herself again shivering from the thought of being stalked by invisible people standing only inches away from her.

The trio made their way down the steps to the Pre-Gym's entrance in the center of the city. They stepped down the building's front steps to arrive at its previously opened door. Michael took point and assured everyone that as far as he could tell, the entire first floor of the gym was deserted.

The Pre-Gym's interior consists of three elevated grounds accessible via a small set of stairs for the people who worked and trained here. In the Western part of the large room there was a small elevated classroom for trainers to learn from teachers who stood by their white board full of lessons on basic Pokémon battling and status conditions. In the center there was an elevated arena for Pokémon battles to take place. On the Eastern side there was the command center where the Pre-Gym Leader Justy would have usually sat behind his consoles and controls.

"Awwh this place looks like fun! Too bad nobody's here…", the blue sister expressed her lament for a lost atmosphere.

"Let's look for that car battery in here… Seth, would you mind investigating Justy's Control Center?"

"I'll go.", Seth complied with Michael's request.

The siblings proceeded to walk up the small set of stairs to the open classroom section. A single purple item chest was found beside the teacher's whiteboard. Before Michael proceeded to open the box he read the last thing that was written on the teacher's canvass.

"Don't hesitate to take a break when you need one! Always remember your personal health on your journey.", the whiteboard read with a small doodle of a Chansey.

Michael opened the purple item chest and found a single wrapped up Candy inside. He held it up to examine the brand and flavor text on its wrapper.

"Woot Candy. A party in your mouth! Heals 60 HP…. What?", the red headed teen reacted to the odd brand he has never heard of before.

"Woot? Haha! That's a funny name for a candy.", said Jovi with a giggle.

"I guess Pokémon can eat this too? Eh? Well… you want it?", the older brother offered his younger sister.

"Sure!", she said snatching the piece of candy away from Michael's hand and putting it in her Medicine pocket in her yellow backpack.

"Well that's it here then… some strange candy sitting in another strange purple item chest… maybe I could ask Seth if he knows anything about these chests…", Michael exclaimed moving forward.

The trio reunited at the small set of steps to the arena in the center of the giant room. Seth presented Michael with the key to take the Pre-Gym's Elevator to its biome basement where trainers used to train their Pokémon in different environments at a time. Michael didn't hesitate to ask Seth if he knew anything about the purple item chests that have been appearing in their investigations.

"I'm afraid I couldn't tell you even if I knew the answer. I assumed some people who don't care for their items leave them in these boxes for anyone to grab… I'm not afraid to admit I might have looted a few items myself from these chests seeing as nobody is ever around to claim them where I find them."

"Where have you found them?"

"A variety of places… it wouldn't be unusual to find at least one hiding in a cave or junk yard."

"And you have no idea where they come from or who left them?"

"I don't… Let's focus on the matter at hand. Are we going to ride the elevator down to the basement?", asked Seth annoyed by Michael's constant questions.

"Right. Let's go.", the red headed teen dismissed the rest of the questions he had for now.

Jovi didn't like seeing her older brother and the magician grow tense towards each other. Although she couldn't help but stay silent at the moment as she followed her brother up on to the arena stage and approached the closed elevator capsule. She stood between her brother and the magician as Michael inserted the card key into a key slot on the surface of the Poke Ball shaped top of the cylindrical elevator.

The lift rose and opened. The space seemed too small for all three of them to fit at the same time. Seth suggested that Michael and Jovi should proceed first and he'll follow once the elevator rises back up for him. Michael didn't like the idea of keeping his eye off of the magic man, but seeing as he couldn't bear the thought of having Jovi descend on her own he accompanied her as they proceeded through the floor.

Once they had arrived, the glass cylindrical lift dropped opened them to a dark training ground barely lit by the light provided by the elevator. The siblings stepped forward on the elevated platform dividing them from the unused biome grounds. The lift ascended for Seth.

"This isn't convenient….", stated Michael trying to recognize anything familiar about the environment.

"It's so dark…. But I have an idea! I brought Litwick along. Maybe he could help us see a little better.", Jovi said before sending out the Candle Pokémon.

The little Litwick yawned and stood up with its usual happy grin with its blue flame burning brightly. At first the Pokémon looked back at its trainer with a smile before it suddenly turned to face something in the darkness. Its expression became neutral with a small frown on its face.

"I guess it is a little brighter in here now… I think from now on we should consider having a flashlight or something huh? We wander into dark places too much.", Michael stated the obvious.

"That's a good idea… Why don't trainer's use flashlights more often?", Jovi asked her brother.

"Huh?"

"I mean, looking up famous trainers from other regions on Global Link, I know trainers that use the move Flash to light up the dark places. No one ever considers bringing a flashlight for some reason…"

"Huh... well that's good to know...", Michael humored his sister's presentation of a useless fact.

"I'm just saying you know? You know? Big brother?... Ah forget it never mind...", Jovi dismissed the subject before receiving a pat on her shoulder from her brother humoring her knowledge of useless facts. She smiled back a little before they both heard Litwick crying out for some reason.

"Wiiuuk!", the little Litwick angrily shrieked at something hiding in the dark with its flame burning bright.

Just after the Candle Pokémon cried out, the elevator lift behind them arrived. Seth rejoined the party after having exited the elevator lift. The magician looked forward into the darkened environment for a moment before drawing a flashlight out of his cloak.

The sudden ray of light drew the attention of the siblings to a single shadow barely visible in the light before it jumped out of sight. The revelation and sudden movement of the unidentifiable figure in the darkness made the siblings jump in fear and hide behind the stoic magician.

"W-What was that?!", the startled red headed teen shouted.

"Something's in here! O-Oh gosh where is it?", the azure sister panicked with her brother.

Seth was silent as he contemplated his realization the Orre Region's champion and his sister are both cowering behind him. He turned off his flash light and looked at the Litwick on the floor for a brief moment before turning to Michael and his sister behind him. He handed him the flashlight.

"I believe you can make use of this. I'm surprised after everything you've been through; even recently, you're still scared of a little darkness. I'm not saying I'm judging you but I expect better from Orre's latest hero."

At this moment, Michael was fed up with this stranger's judgments. He remembers their conflict at Gateon Port vividly and didn't care to want to remember it. But when he started ridiculing him again it sparked another flame inside him calling him to prove him wrong. As much as he wanted to shout however, he'd be setting a bad example for his sister. He restrained himself of his temptation to snap at him swiped the flashlight from Seth's hand with disdain.

"Let's just get this over with…", Michael requested before stepping down the small set of stairs to the earthy grounds of indoor underground biome.

Jovi and Seth followed with Jovi's Litwick held in her hands. They stepped on to the dead grass and joined Michael in his search through the relatively small training grounds. The blue sister kept herself alert to any movement she could find in their light.

They searched every inch of the training grounds they could find for over twenty minutes. The entire time Jovi's Litwick was restless as they explored the darkness. Despite the obvious fear the Pokémon had it would not act on its fear of whatever it was hiding in the darkness. The Candle Pokémon could not bring itself to act on its instincts while it was in the security of its trainer's arms.

Michael flashed his light on the ground where he stood. The sand in this portion of the room appeared to consist of five different patterns of foot prints. It's hard to tell how long ago these were made or if they even came from Michael and company.

"I see something…", Seth proclaimed standing away from the group.

"What? What's there?", asked the red headed protagonist before proceeding to walk towards him standing at the edge of a dried pond.

Michael and Jovi stood as they watched Seth step down into the center of the dried dirty lake. He picked something up off the bed of the pond and brushed dirt off of it. He returned to the two siblings with a functional detached car battery unearthed from the pond's bed.

"You found it! …. But how did you know it would be in the pond?", Michael questioned again.

"I didn't. I found a strange shape bulging out of the bottom of this dried pond. I investigated and found what you were looking for apparently.", Seth responded as he held the large battery in his arms.

"I can carry it out for you two as we go to Mayor Trest's house. We'll see to it he makes it back to Pyrite before the day is over."

It was settled that the three would start making their way back to the Mayor's house. As they proceeded to return to the stairs of the elevator however, Jovi's Litwick became irritated at something and jumped out of its trainer's arms. It hopped into the darkness chasing something hiding in the sandy corner behind a few standing rocks.

"Hey! Litwick?! What's wrong?", She called out to it before she followed it's light.

"Hey! What's happening?!", Michael exclaimed before running after his sister.

Just as Jovi was about to catch up to her Pokémon glowing behind the rocks a sudden blast of fire illuminated the darkness in the dead biome. The novice trainer shielded her eyes as she heard a man's voice screaming in the fire. When the light of the fire was suddenly put out Jovi uncovered her eyes to see her Pokemon has disappeared.

"… Litwick? Where did you... Litwick?", Jovi called out to her Pokémon again looking past the embers on the ground.

"Jovi! Are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt?", Michael asked running up to her with the flashlight.

"I'm fine but where's Litwick? There was this ball of fire and it sounded like someone was screaming but there was nobody here… where's Litwick?", she asked again starting to worry for her Pokémon.

The two looked around their area but there was no sign of the Candle Pokémon, but its blue glow was nowhere to be seen in the entire training ground. The little sister called out for her Pokémon as the magician approached Michael to question what the matter was.

The search for her Pokémon in the training grounds was brief but thorough yet nothing could be found. In the main floor of the Pre-Gym there was no trace of the little Candle Pokémon. Worrying so much for her missing Pokémon, Jovi ran out of the building and began exploring as much as she could on her own without her brother to guide her. Any fear of the ghosts that occupied Phenac City was gone as she scoured the buildings and houses for her lost Pokémon.

When Michael went to join his sister at the abandoned Pokémon Center she just entered, he found her appearing to be on the verge of tears. Her blue eyes glistened as she tried to hold back her sadness over the sudden unexplained disappearance of her newest Pokémon. As a trainer just barely beginning her journey, this was not the best start for her to lose a Pokémon so suddenly.

"I'm sorry…", Michael said to her sister as he approached seeing a single small glistening tear on her cheek

The blue sister didn't say anything as she looked down at the floor of the emptied lobby. Her eyes were barely visible in the shade given off by her bangs. Jovi then directly looked at her brother for him to see how badly this day had turned for her.

"Don't cry! Please I promise I'll find him. M-Maybe I-I'll er just don't worry! Please don't cry. I promise everything will be alright.", Michael pleaded as he too started to well up small tears seeing his little sister so sad.

"W-We still have our Pokémon to help us find Litwick. Pluplu and Mimi will be happy to help. You still have them, c'mon little sis. Happy face! C'mon we'll find your Pokémon and you'll be set. But for now let's smile and keep moving forward alright? ", said Michael feeling a little more confident in his attempt to brighten up his sister's spirit.

As he held his tearful sister by her shoulders with his right arm he suddenly remembered something that could be compared to this situation. He proceeded to comfort her with this small recollection.

"You know, this reminds me of this one time during my adventure long ago. The ONBS team called me to help a little girl find her lost Pokémon that was caught in the S.S. Libra. She was so sad when I first met her but when I made a promise to find and bring her Pokémon back, I saw hope had returned in her eyes. A few days later I came back with her Bonsly after finding it at a Poke Spot I was monitoring. She was so happy to see her little Pokémon again. Today, I promise you you'll get your Pokémon back soon sister."

After hearing her brother's story she brushed off the last tear from her cheek and had a small smile return to her expression. She felt better from her sudden loss of the first Wild Pokémon she has ever captured. Knowing her brother will find her Pokémon before she begins her adventure as a Pokemon trainer filled her with the courage to smile again. She gave her big brother a quick hug and a grin of appreciation.

"Awwh thanks big brother! I know I can always count on you…. But I won't stop worrying about my poor little Litwick. I can't believe I could have let it jump away and just disappear in a flash of light…", Jovi said still full of regret for how quickly it happened.

"Everything will be alright. For now, let's go to the mayor's house and get Trest to Pyrite Town as fast as we can so that we can start looking for your Pokémon ASAP."

After having left the emptied Pokémon Center, they immediately saw Seth who was holding the car battery waiting a few yards away from the building's entrance beside a dead palm tree. Michael approached the magician to tell him something that has been on his mind for a while especially since they met in the colosseum. Jovi stood by to listen to her brother's confrontation.

"Hey Seth? I know you say you're from around here but I'll be straight forward with you, if you have anything to hide or know anything worth telling that you've been keeping from us.", Michael admitted his obvious suspicion of him as he approached him and stood looking at him in the eyes.

"You suspect me of something?", Seth nonchalantly replied.

"Of course I do… It's not every day some random magician drops in to this region and suddenly everything seems worse than it already is. A mysterious clean hover truck was abandoned in the desert, something crashed through our laboratory and disabled the Purify Chamber, Dr. Kaminko's blue prints for a certain invention of his has been stolen a few nights back, we encountered an admin's ghost in the abandoned desert lab, an attack on Agate Village's sacred grove left their forest and its history in ruins not to mention their sacred Relic, and don't forget about that rampaging Slaking in Gateon Port which you were there to see. You understand what I'm saying?", the red headed teen openly admitted up front.

"And you assume I'm responsible for all that including Jovi's Pokémon having disappeared?", countered accused the magician before Michael went spoke up again with his answer.

"… Well no… but you just seem very suspicious to me. No hard feelings, I know you brought Jovi her first Pokémon to catch and I can't tell you how thankful I am over that, but how did you do it?"

"I've told you, I use real magic. I can use Telekinesis on objects, I can summon Pokémon out of a top hat if I have one present, I can even Neo-Evolve certain Pokémon with my gauntlet on my left arm.", Seth stated forcing Michael to beg an important question he just conjured up.

"That's another thing, how did you find out about Neo-Evolution or whatever it's called? You said Cipher scientists were researching ways to change Pokémon and discovered this… Were you once part of Cipher?", Michael asked the one question that left the magician silent in thought.

Seth looked away from Michael for a moment to ponder his response. He could see Jovi looking at him with her blue innocent eyes recovering from the tears she shed earlier. The young man sighed for a moment before turning back to Michael to give him a serious answer.

"Alright…. If you really want to know…. No… no I'm sorry but I just can't tell you… call me suspicious all you want, but I have my own motives here as a magician and dweller of my home land. I promise you that you won't need to suspect me of anything. If you can't stop suspecting me I can leave both of you with my P DA number so we can be in touch or if you still want to ask me questions. I'll help you and your sister find her Litwick as well as discover this new threat to Orre's future in any way I can.", Seth offered the red headed protagonist.

Michael stood pondering as he stood facing the cloaked man. He couldn't decide if he should trust the look in the young man's blue eyes. He seemed very stern and honest with his words. Before Michael could speak, Jovi spoke her judgment first.

"I trust you... I know my brother might think you're hiding something, but I know you're a good guy. I mean you helped me catch my first Wild Pokémon; you can't be a bad guy in my world. C'mon Michael he's alright.", she assured her older brother with a small half-smile.

"…I suppose you're alright then… I'm sorry for suspecting you, but you know how things are when the list of suspects here are just so low… I've lived in this region for so long I practically know everyone at this point.", Michael admitted to the cloaked magician looking away from his blue stern eyes.

"So when you see strangers or foreigners come to Orre you can't help but feel suspicious?", Seth asked.

"Well…. I wish I could say no but I've been betrayed so many times before… the friends I thought I had suddenly pretended that I don't exist. They were only my friends so that they could gain data from the Pokémon I saved… Something about filling out a Pokémon encyclopedia or something… then recently after two years researching into electronics and Pokémon technology in my father's footsteps, my 'partner' in the Kalos region turned out to be a glory hogging traitor, passing off our work as his own with no credit for neither me nor the others who helped like Dr. Kaminko and Professor Krane."

"…Maybe you are right to suspect foreigners and strangers…", Seth agreed with him.

While the two were into their conversation, Jovi looked around where they stood. She thought she saw something walk across the second plaza. She walked up the steps to the second plaza and immediately spotted three white shiny human figures standing in front of the Mayor's house. Her breath was taken away as she stood motionless looking at the three figures appearing to be wearing some sort of light armor with breathing masks on their helmets.

"Muh-MICHAEL!", she shouted her brother's name as she kept looking at the three shady figures.

As soon as she screamed, the three figures instantaneously disappeared into thin air. She stood there in disbelief of what she just witnessed as her brother and the cloaked magician ran up the stairs beside her. She pointed them towards the mayor's house where the strange figures were once standing.

"O-Over there?! There were three strange suited people with white armor and helmets and masks and…", Jovi tried to describe their details but the intensity of the moment choked her up.

Michael and Seth ran forward toward Trest's house and entered through his automatic sliding front door. Michael was the first inside to see what had happened when they were gone. What he saw forced him to take a moment to contemplate how this could have happened right under their noses.

"Where did the furniture go?! Mayor Trest?!", he called out before running up the stairs just across the emptied living room to the mayor's bed room.

Seth stood on guard waiting for Michael's return. Jovi walked by him as she was in awe over how empty the room was compared to when they entered the first time an hour ago. Even the mayor's shelves disappeared not leaving a single book misplaced on the floor. The sofas and Trest's television set has disappeared. Nothing was left behind.

Coming down from his brief investigation, Michael looked very uneasy about this new development…

"The Mayor… isn't here… all of his furniture is gone, even his bed…"

The news made the blue novice trainer feel a dark pit in her stomach. She looked at Seth to see he wasn't at all happy with this discovery. Taking a moment to drop the car battery he had in his arms, he approached the two shaken siblings with a proposition.

"It's clear that time is running out. Whatever it is eating away at this land it may have some relation to Cipher and their secret projects that I know exist. Projects like Neo-Evolution and other possible Pokémon based technologies… I will head north past Eclo Canyon near the Eastern foot of Mount Battle. I know of a place Cipher had intended to build a factory over the canyon's river. Did they build it during the second crisis?"

"Yes! That's the Cipher Key Lair you're talking about. It's a Shadow Pokémon Factory that I raided and put out of commission long ago… I don't remember seeing anything unusual besides the Shadow Pokémon producing machines I found…", Michael explained as he thought about how Seth could know so much about Cipher.

"Before I go let's exchange P DA numbers that way we can communicate with each other if we need to."

Jovi agreed, Michael followed her in exchanging their numbers. Seth has been registered as a contact on both of their P DAs. After the registration Michael expressed how he felt at the moment.

"This is not right… first my sister's Pokémon and now the Mayor? …. Maybe the citizens who lived here a week ago were also taken away by these… ghosts…. Instead of actually moving out on their own will…"

"I believe that may be partially the case…. I for one believe in ghosts, but according to Jovi, it sounded as if there truly are people able disappear and reappear in sight… hypothetically speaking these 'ghosts' may not be ghosts but agents of this new threat occupying and clearing out this entire city."

The thought sent chills up Jovi's spine and unnerved Michael for a moment before he listened further to what Seth had to say. How Seth even suggested that entities haunting a city might be agents of a new evil begs the question, but Michael ignored the question for now.

"For now, do what you must. I'll tell you what I can find if I find anything as soon as I can… and if you're curious about anything pertaining to me or what I know please don't hesitate to ask."

"It's alright… I have faith in your good nature and that you are who you say you are… I just wish I had a lead on who might be working with this 'New Cipher'…", Michael wished as he looked at where the Mayor's desk would have been in the room.

"…. As we were discussing earlier, I think you are right to suspect strangers….", Seth said to him much to Michael's surprise.

"…Huh? Why?", he responded looking at him in his blue eyes.

"Between you and me… I don't like the look of that Agnes Cade fellow…. Something about him, even his name, seems rather shady… he's the one who gave the sailor that Slaking in a raffle right?"

"Yes but…. I guess you're right, but he's from Kan….!", his speech was cut as Michael had a sudden epiphany. Thinking back to his conversation with Mayor Trest regarding the former mayor of Phenac City during the first Shadow Pokémon Crisis, realized the eerily similar names the two had, but he wouldn't know for sure if Agnes would bare resemblance to Es Cade or his true ego, Evice.

"… I guess I'll be keeping an eye out for him… I guess I should consider interrogating him too…", he said imagining his confrontation with a possible master criminal that plagued Orre long before his journey began.

"There is no time to waste. Let's move out.", Seth suggested to the party leader.

After the meeting was adjourned they stood at the Western gate of the city outside of the Mayor's house. There Seth stood in the gateway in the city's weathered cement wall that outlined its boundaries. He faced the siblings and said with a serious tone directing toward Jovi first.

"If I find your Litwick Jovi, I'll be sure to message you and your brother as soon as I get the chance… stay strong you two, and stay safe.", the dark cloaked magician wished for the two before beginning his walk across the unforgiving desert.

"Okay! See ya later Seth!", Jovi shouted goodbye with a wave before silencing herself immediately out of caution for the unknown threat still in the city.

"Bye.", Michael bid his farewell with far less enthusiasm than his sister.

"So where to now big brother? Personally I'd like to be anywhere but here at the moment… eh…"

"I think Seth might have been a former Cipher scientist during the first crisis….", the red headed teen indirectly answered though irrelevant to his sister's question.

"Huh? How did you come up with that thought? You not just saying that to be mean to him are you?", she asked intrigued by her brother's proposition.

"Not at all... maybe he has repented for working with Cipher once. I'm no stranger to befriending former foes I'll have you know, sis. A former scientist wanted me to purify his Shadow Togepi once. Who knows where he is now, but take Lovrina as an example. Sure she still has that attitude but she's had a change in heart. Even if some people wanted to blow me to pieces in their own fortresses, they can have a change of heart if they at least try."

"Oh? Oh…. but…. What about your other friends in Hoenn or-"

"Mushrooms on a Paras's back, Jovi. You can't reason with people like after placing your trust in them like I did nor would you want to after what they tried to do… nevermind.", he said to her dropping the subject before marching out the gateway.

Jovi was afraid she might have made her brother annoyed by her mention of his former international friends. Despite this however, she was more afraid of the feeling of being stalked by invisible people hiding even a possible few feet away from her. She ran up beside her brother and tried to think of something different for conversation before they leave on their hover cycles. Then he thought back to the moment Litwick disappeared and remembered hearing the voice of a man shouting in the ball of flames behind the rock in the Pre-Gym's biome basement. Then she remembered the weird uniform-like

"If it were true that… these ghosts are really invisible soldiers of some kind….", Jovi thought out loud attracting the attention of her brother as they walked side by side on the sand.

Michael looked toward his sister looking like she had just found the answer to a horrifying mystery.

"Then that means my Litwick…. Might have found one of them and attacked him in the basement!... My poor Litwick…", Jovi mumbled with lament for her Pokémon.

When Michael went to pat on his sister's shoulder and assure her that he'll find her Pokémon; he suddenly had his eyes opened to a horrifying realization. These 'ghosts' may actually be peons wielding some sort of invisible cloaking device. Cloaking technology may have been one of the projects Seth had mentioned that lesser known branch of Cipher's science team was researching. His entire body got the goosebumps when he contemplated just how close they probably were to encountering this newly reformed Cipher hiding in the shadows. If the ghost of Nascour they encountered in the desert lab was not a ghost at all but the real live flesh and blood criminal, with this new technology, he could have easily turned invisible when Michael almost had him cornered. He remembers how he tried to look through the entire metal room. Nascour was probably dodging him the entire time with his cloaking device but he would never have known. Michael's heart raced just thinking about how differently things could have ended for him at that moment. He didn't bother telling his sister as it seemed she has already thought of this possibility before he did.

After having messaged Secc at ONBS details of their failure to save Mayor Trest via email, Michael and Jovi were set on their hover cycles to Pyrite Town. Michael's agenda at Pyrite wasn't just to meet up with the ONBS team however; he knows certain danger might come his way if he goes to the Cipher Key Lair to join Seth. The darkness of night is coming and he wants to keep his sister safe in Pyrite Town with the ONBS Team so that he won't have to waste the time it takes to make it to the HQ Lab and back to the Cipher Key Lair.

"Everything will be alright….", he assured himself as he zoomed by hoodoos and over dunes with his sister while yearning the good old days.


	6. Episode 4 Part 1 of 2

Dusk was beginning to descend on the Orre region as Michael and Jovi drove into the southern passage into quiet Pyrite Town. Michael parked his hovercycle near Chief Sherles' empty police station. Jovi parked her blue hover cycle behind Michael's and dismounted in unison with her brother. Michael took a few steps away to look at the ONBS building towering over the small town with its satellite dish actively rotating and angling itself.

"What are they doing? Usually they keep it still to broadcast their programs but it's aiming in all directions...", Michael observed the odd actions of ONBS's satellite dish.

"Didn't they say they intercepted some signal or something? Maybe they're trying to find it again?", Jovi suggested an answer before looking away to see Fateen waving at them from her fortune telling shack.

"Right…. They're probably on to something…"

"Michael! There is a new fortune ready to be told for you. If you and your sister would like, I can tell you both your fortunes right now before you continue your adventure.", Fateen welcomed them both to her hut before walking back into her chamber.

"Ooh! A fortune?! I'd like my fortune to be told. What about you big bro?", Jovi asked enthused by the notion.

"Alright. But let's make this quick okay? We can't keep Nett and the gang waiting forever.", stated the red headed protagonist before he followed his sister into Fateen's abode.

They sat a few feet from each other's side at Fateen's table in her cold fortune telling chamber. They watched Fateen put on her star shades and wave her fingers around her crystal ball seemingly more polished and more luminescent than the last time Michael had came here.

"And now let's begin. Which one of you would like to have their fortune told first?", Fateen asked the two.

"Can I go first? Please?", Jovi asked politely with a smile.

Michael observed Fateen perform her ritual of looking into the crystal ball. Before she could continue keeping her hands suspended over her sphere, Jovi raised her hand and caught her attention for a moment. Fateen looked away from her gem and directed her attention toward the blue eyed girl.

"Can you tell me something that could help me find my Litwick? I lost my poor Litwick today at Phenac City when it just disappeared in flames. Could you do that for me? Please?"

"Oooh? Very well then my dear. I'll see what I can do….", Fateen acknowledged her request before proceeding to look back into her crystal ball.

The siblings sat silent for a moment as they gazed into the sphere with the fortune teller. A single blue flickering light could be seen inside the dark void that appeared within the sphere. Jovi was awestruck while Michael kept silent as he watched.

"Your little candle lost in a dark place. Somewhere far away, an ominous presence is watching over your Pokémon, but he is safe in an isolated zone… I don't know where but I believe your Pokémon is waiting to be rescued. I'm sure you and your brother will find him soon enough.", Fateen said to Jovi looking a little disappointed with the little information provided.

"Oh… Well alright. I know I'll get my Litwick back. I have nothing to worry as long as Michael and I are on the case, right?", Jovi said with positivity in her tone looking at her older brother who was stretching his arms behind his head.

"Right! But can we hurry this up? Your Litwick isn't going to find himself and I really would like to join Seth at the facility as soon as possible.", Michael exclaimed as he feared nightfall would delay his arrival at the Cipher Key Lair.

"Patience my child. It's your turn for your next and last fortune. Please ask me what you'd like your fortune to be.", The pink haired elderly lady requested of the red headed teen.

Michael scratched his left hand inside the glove of his Snag Machine as he quickly pondered his options. There were several questions that rolled into his thoughts but a single important question stood out. He decided on a question and began to tell Fateen.

"Tell me, who is in charge of this 'Neo Cipher'. If you can. I'd like to know what we're up against."

Fateen looked into her crystal ball and tried to look for a vision. The gem was clear and nothing was reflected inside. Fateen stared through her starry shades… but nothing happened.

"I can't… I can't see…. Who could it be? I don't have the power to see…wait-hold on!", Fateen said out loud to the siblings.

The two were shocked as they couldn't see anything happening in the crystal ball. Despite the void, Fateen looks like she was barely able to see something. She gasped as she spoke.

"I see… I see an outline of one… two….three….three? No…. no they're gone. It's gone. My power has been spent... I do not possess the ability to see who is who, but I do possess the ability to tell you to be careful. Be vigilant, Michael, as you try to fight this new threat. I feel the silence before the storm at this very moment."

"Three? …. As in three people responsible?", Michael queried.

"I don't know. I can't tell you because even I'm not sure of what I saw. I tried my best but it's just not possible to see into the fog of the unknown. I wish I could have been more useful to you but I'm afraid by this time tomorrow I'll be off to the Kanto Region. I've already booked a private speed boat to Cinnabar Island.", Fateen revealed the basic details of her departure to Michael and his sister much to their sudden surprise.

"What? You're leaving?", Michael asked with disbelief that "Pyrite Town's Mother" would abandon her own home.

"Not on the count that I don't believe in you my child. But there are green pastures full of Pokémon I've never seen my entire life living here in Pyrite Town. Pyrite will always be in my heart as will all of my children who have ever come to me for advice… and besides… I'm not getting any younger.", Fateen explained a hint of regret in her tone.

Michael realized she had a valid point. She's grown so old she might not have many years left. She might as well go out and see the world before time catches up to her. Perhaps he should look at her as an example and consider leaving the Orre Region too. Even if he entrusted himself the task of protecting the region and helping everyone who live in it, there is barely anything left to protect at this point besides a few friends and his family. He better make the most of his life while he's young and agile.

"But don't you dare forget to search and stop this new darkness from spreading. No matter what your thoughts are, everyone in the world trusts you to face this threat and stop it before it takes hold in this region. Understand Michael?", Fateen reminded sensing a hint of doubt in Michael's expression.

"Oh? Oh! Of course. Don't worry Miss Fateen. I'll make sure they won't get far." said Michael before standing up from his seat.

"We're going to the ONBS building now. We'll see ya later if you're still around. If not, I hope you have a safe trip to Kanto tomorrow! ", he said goodbye with sincerity and a small smile.

Jovi looked up at her brother and back at Fateen for a moment before standing up from her chair and thanking Fateen for her fortunes. Fateen bid them both farewell and wished them luck in their quest. Before they left the hut however, Michael turned to the pink haired elder and made one last request.

"Hey, if you see a trainer with a red cap and jacket with a Pikachu, tell him I said…. Er… Hi... I guess.", requested the red headed teen after realizing he doesn't want to imply he's still mad about the past. Granted he IS still mad, but he knows it's not becoming to want to send a mean message out of spite.

"Now now Michael. What's in the past is done, but now we must focus on everything that's happened in Orre today. I'll be sure to send Red your regards.", Fateen replied reading his mind a little again.

"… Heh, thanks.", Michael said before walking through the hanging cloth over the front doorway.

Jovi smiled and waved at Fateen one last time as she followed her big brother out the door. Jovi could see her waving back before exiting the chamber into a town beholding a sunset across the badlands. The golden orange light shined in the horizon and slowly sunk into the earth as Jovi followed her brother to the ONBS building.

They passed through the empty battle square to the the tall building that stood at the edge of a crevice that split Pyrite Town from the Pyrite Colosseum. The bridge crossing the abyss, despite being composed of rusted metal and rope, remained sturdy for anyone needing to visit to the Colosseum after all these years.

The Colosseum itself is a large broken dome that was supposed to be used for constructing a monument for the rich mining prospector that founded Pyrite Town decades ago. The monument fell apart during its construction however, which lead to the decision for settling for a Colosseum instead of a landmark. The Pyrite Colosseum would be the place Pyrite Town's miners would come to hold tournaments in their spare time until generations into the future. The modern thuggish citizens of Pyrite would make it their arena for the people's Pokémon to battle in an attempt to claim titles.

Michael approached the orange shirted bodybuilding guard at the door of the ONBS building standing beside a functioning vending machine. The guard was unresponsive as Michael and his sister approached. Upon further inspection he discovered the guard was asleep at his post as he stood.

"Hello?", Michael said to the guard.

"Sznznnork?! Ehh?! Wah? Oh. It's you. What's going on? I wasn't slacking if that's what you thought you caught me doing.", the burly bodybuilder said.

"Well just to let you know, there is a very good chance Cipher or some evil synidicate has returned to Orre. Just saying you might want to get your full night's sleep from now on.", Michael informed the sleepy buff man.

"Ohh yeah? Don't you worry Michael, I won't let any suspicious crew in here. I may not look it but I've trained myself and my Pokémon to Block anybody suspicious entering no matter what from now on. You can count on me.", the burly guard said holding a big fist in the air in front of him.

Michael nodded before passing through the door. Jovi followed after she stopped wondering how someone could just sleep standing upright for so long. They both entered the clean fancy building to see Nett's younger sister Megg behind the front desk with her Shroomish standing on the counter.

Megg is a teenage girl who has a job as a secretary in the ONBS building. Her older brother runs the entire ONBS organization. Their jobs organizing and helping the people who work and the people who visit in the ONBS building have been getting tremendously easier over the years but not for any good reason. There are less than fourteen staff members in the ONBS Team at the moment.

"Hello Michael! Nett and Secc are waiting for you up top in their office. Oh, hello to you too! I think we've met at least once. Aren't you Jovi?", Megg greeted and asked upon seeing Michael and his sister.

"Yes! And aren't you Megg? Your Shroomish still looks so cute!", said Jovi fascinated by the little Mushroom Pokémon sitting on Megg's desk looking back at her with a simple unamused expression.

"Thank you! Your Pluplu and Mimi doing well?", Megg asked back happy to see Michael's sister again in so long.

While the sisters were having their little conversation, Michael stepped forward to look to his right down the first corridor to the first elevator. The right wall had only two doors leading to the first floor's filming studio and locker rooms respectively. Judging by the silence of the corridor, there doesn't seem to be any talented singers or magicians being filmed in the studio at the moment.

After a brief exploration of the two rooms as customary for Michael to inspect environments that he needs to be familiar with again incase anything goes wrong, Jovi joined her brother after she and Megg caught up with each other on recent events. They proceeded up the first elevator to the second floor as each of the two elevators in this building only goes from one floor to another with the second floor being shared by both.

When they stepped out of the glass elevator they immediately saw the familiar red dressed anchor lady from ONBS news television talking with one of her few camera crewmen. Michael approached Ancha with Jovi following behind him.

"Oh hello Michael! Are you here to talk to Secc and Nett? Aren't you also on the Agate Bomber case right now?", Ancha asked the red headed protagonist.

"Yes. Yes to both. But do you know what they're doing with the antenna on the roof by any chance? It's been rotating in all directions like crazy.", Michael queried with curiosity.

"I'm not sure… but Marcia and Cameran went back to Agate with the 'bomb squad' Bitt assembled. The Worker in the windmill had some knowledge in explosives apparently. A few Hunters and a Bodybuilder from the Colosseum were recruited into accompanying them and took a UHV to Agate earlier. We should be getting live footage from Marcia and Cameran soon but Nett has been using the satellite dish for other things recently. None of us can work without that dish working right.", Ancha said before her camera operator

"That's right. We can't get any live footage or broadcast anything without our antenna. Hence why there isn't anything but a testing signal screen on TV lately.", Ancha's camera operator added.

"Hmm… Okay. I'll see go see what's going on up there.", Michael said before dismissing the two.

Jovi recognized Ancha from the ONBS news broadcasts. She almost wanted to ask for her autograph but her brother was already at the next cylindrical lift. The young novice trainer quickly followed her brother into the elevator and rode it to the third floor with him.

Just ahead of them as they exited the elevator were the stairs to the roof top with a Healing Machine placed against the wall between the siblings and the stairs. The third floor's corridors would have been completely empty if it weren't for a single janitor sweeping the floor with a broom. Michael approached him before he turned to him after hearing his footsteps.

"….Hey there.", the mustached janitor said reluctant to speak to Michael or even face him under his brown cap.

"Hi? Everything alright?", Michael asked a little concerned.

"….I'm just waiting out my days here… two days from now I'm sure to see my family again."

"Oh? That's great! Congrats!", the yellow vested teen congratulated the melancholy janitor. "If you don't mind me asking though, where are they?"

"Somewhere far from this region… they'll come pick us up soon… I'm sure…", the janitor replied revealing his impending exodus before he resumed fulfilling his duty.

"Oh… well alright. Hang in there. It'll be over before you know it.", Michael assured the man who refused to talk to him anymore as he swept the floor.

Jovi stood for a moment contemplating the janitor. She couldn't understand why he had to sound so depressed about reuniting with his family again. She wasn't given any time to ponder however as her brother was already at the short single flight of stairs to the open rooftop.

When they stepped on to the rooftop, they could feel a small breeze running through their hair. The siblings could see the sun had disappeared over the horizon of sand and hoodoos, but the color of the sky above it still held its shades of orange blending with the invading darkness of night. The blue little sister was in awe, but Michael didn't take the time to appreciate the view. He approached the door on box-shaped compound outfitted with a giant rotating dish antenna on top of its flat roof. He entered through it with his sister behind him.

Inside, Secc was at his desk sitting in Nett's big chair appearing to be handling a joystick on some sort of controller towards a series of small monitors on his desk while Nett is at the other side of the room viciously typing something on to his laptop sitting on a foldable chair tangled with wires connecting to the monitors on his desk with Secc behind it. Salads of cables and wires were strewn all over the floor with some reaching into the ceiling.

Secc turned to see Michael and let go of the controller for a moment to wave and greet him.

"Hi Michael! How did it go with the mayor?", the blue shirted boy asked much to Michael's displeasure of being reminded of his failure.

"Secc! We had it right there! Put that antenna back!", Nett shouted.

"Woops! Sorry man!", Secc said assuming control of the antenna again.

Michael approached Secc at Nett's desk to see what he was doing. On the single monitor the boy was focused on as he held on to the control was a circle with a notch on a single section of its surface. The notch was being kept in a hallowed square displayed on the screen that kept moving around the circle in an irregular pattern. Secc seems to be trying to keep the antenna within the range of a signal.

Secc suggested that Michael should wait outside while they're trying to intercept and record this rogue signal believed to be coming from the "New Cipher". Nett agreed as he hastily kept typing everything he could on to his PC. The red headed protagonist understood and stepped back outside with his sister accompanying him. This time he had the chance to take in the view he's all too familiar with.

He leaned back on the wall of the rooftop compound as his sister leaned forward on the railing keeping anyone from falling off on to Pyrite Town's streets. In this moment under the slight irritation of the noise the antenna made as it rotated in all directions and the soft breeze blowing through their hair, Jovi had the chance to ask her brother more questions about his adventure long ago.

"Big brother?"

"Yes?", he replied as he looked down at the empty duel square in the street.

"When you were on your journey… How did you put up with having to face off with stuff like this?"

"Stuff like?"

"Well, you didn't know what you were up against. When you went to save Dr. Kaminko weren't you afraid of what would happen if something went wrong?"

"… Well I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel anything. After the help I got from Eagun at Agate I felt like my Pokémon could handle a challenge. Thankfully nothing really went wrong… in fact remembering it now it was… kinda fun actually… Heh. Did I ever tell you about those six brothers? They had a group name… what were they called again? I can't…"

"The Hexagon Brothers! Yeah I remember you telling me about them."

"Yeah. They weren't threatening as much as they were funny to spy on when they're trying to do a roll call off of each other. Sometimes they'd even think there was a spy among them when they'd count to seven on accident. Haha! Ah that brings back memories."

"Where do you think they are now?"

"I don't know sis. I don't know where a lot of people I've met gone… I only hope that wherever they are they're being accepted into society. I can't imagine Snattle wouldn't make some noise on his own… to think he nominated me to be hid Secretary Candidate for when he'd become Orre's Governor... We all know how well that went.", said Michael as he thought about the unusual friends he made out of former enemies.

"Oh… Well at least we know Lovrina's alright, right? Maybe Gorigan and Eldes are off at some really beautiful region somewhere having some smoothies or something…", Jovi said mentioning the rest of Michael's unusual friends.

"That's some wishful thinking there… I really wish I knew where Lovrina and Naps went… what happened at Gateon Port still bugs me so much. Someone is guilty here and I'm willing to believe its Agnes. If that's his real name..."

Jovi couldn't think of anything else to ask. Some questions she thought of she was afraid she might have already asked him earlier. The blue novice trainer decided not to ask any more questions and just enjoy the feeling of the gentle fresh night breeze blowing against her face.

The siblings looked out to see the very last reflection of light from the sun disappear from the far sky. The functioning lights in Pyrite Town have been turned on. Lampposts consisting of three metal lamps constricted together and aimed in different directions began fulfilling their role. A broken television screen suspended over the Poke Mart Shop continued to display its green mesh of nothing on its screen as it glowed in the dark. Duking turned on the orange neon signs on the Pyrite Grand Hotel before he manned his station at the hotel's lit reception area.

As peaceful at it was, the peace was interrupted by the steps of someone rising up the stairs. Michael and Jovi turned to see who it was. A familiar green baseball capped teenage boy approached. Michael recognized him and greeted him with a friendly grin.

"Hi Bitt!", he greeted.

Bitt looked at Michael and hesitated for a moment on what he should do. Michael stood waiting for response from him for a seemingly long moment before Bitt suddenly spoke with a little uneasy laughter. He seemed tense for some reason.

"Ha-Hi! Michael. How goes it?", Bitt replied offering a handshake.

Michael wasn't sure what to think of Bitt's impression. He shook his hand and asked him something.

"Are you ok? What's the matter?"

"The matter? No nothing's the matter. I-I just accidentally swallowed an ice cube and now I got cold feet that's all haha. Hey did you know our town's food supply is only going to last another month and a half? I thought that was pretty interesting developement.", Bitt revealed with sarcasm.

"What? What do you mean by that?", Michael asked unable to comprehend what he meant.

"I mean the traders overseas have ditched us! Whatever food we have now is all we got until we can establish a connection with the outside world again. I don't know about you or the others but I think we should all just ditch this place and take our chances in Kanto or Johto or anywhere but Orre.", Bitt exclaimed unable to cope with having to live in Pyrite Town anymore.

"I can understand where you're coming from…", Michael said agreeing with him.

"You do?", Bitt questioned as if he was surprised.

"Yeah…. Although there's still a chance Wild Pokémon could return. It's too late for anyone to capitalize on anything in this region. The Realgam Tower barely has any revenue, Mt. Battle has been shut down and abandoned, and towns are going empty… I wouldn't be surprised if Pyrite Town will just turn into a ghost town by this time tomorrow…"

"Oh…. yeah…", agreed Bitt looking out towards Realgam Tower's direction in the East.

"But it doesn't have to be that way! Maybe if we can just remind the people out there that we exist, we'll see people coming back and bringing life back to Orre again. Right?", Jovi said trying to lighten the mood with a hypothetical solution.

"Maybe…. But when they refuse to listen, it gets harder to see a happy outcome to all of this… I've tried everything I could but….", Michael explained looking down with lament for what he could have done differently.

"Well maybe we're just not trying hard enough. Maybe we could invite some Pokemon Champions over to the Orre Colosseum again? I mean surely Red and the others… oh…",Jovi stopped as soon as she saw her brother shake his head.

"Eagun isn't in charge of the Orre Colosseum anymore. All the contestants and the trainers who'd normally come there stopped a long time ago. It's sad but even in Orre Colosseum won't bring any attention from the outside... I think I've already come to terms with what must be done here….", Michael said stirring direct attention from Jovi and Bitt.

"We should all consider leaving this region for better places soon. There is nothing left for us in Orre... But before my story ends here, I'm going to take the fight to the source of this "New Cipher" save this land and the world from another potential Gale of Darkness. I won't go without finishing what Wes started nine years ago.", said Michael holding his metallic gloved left hand up to his chest in a fist of determination.

Jovi looked at her brother in awe of what she heard. Despite his failures, he's still willing to strive toward a goal that would benefit not only Orre, but the rest of the world and all the people wouldn't even give Michael the acknowledgement he deserves. He knows he has the power to make a change, but even though he couldn't bring his homeland back from the dead he won't let an evil force take advantage of a defenless country open for the taking. Seeing Michael like this filled Jovi with even more inspiration and determination to become just like her older brother when she goes on her Pokémon journey for the first time.

The door opened behind them. Secc was there to greet them all and welcome them in. Michael, Jovi, and Bitt walked into Nett's office with Nett at his desk and Secc sitting at the foldable chair. A large TV screen on the wall that was previously off was turned on and seemed to be displaying some sort of music playing program off of a computer.

"Hey Michael! I see you brought your sister along.", Nett greeted.

"So how did it go with Trest? Is he waiting down stairs?"

"Yeah? How did it go Michael?", Secc added laying back on his chair.

Bitt looked at Michael with an eyebrow raised as he knew he didn't see Mayor Trest on the way up. Michael sighed and explained what had occurred in Phenac City. He described the disappearance of Trest and the abduction of Jovi's Pokémon when they tried to find Trest's missing car battery. The details of these invisible entities allegedly occupying Phenac City with the strange possibility of them having some sort of affiliation with the "New Cipher" astonished the ONBS crew. Jovi added more explanation from her own experience of seeing two visible ghosts appearing to resemble Cipher Peons but with lighter armor and gas masks of some sort.

When Nett, Secc, and Bitt listened to all of this, they were unsettled to say the least. Bitt seemed the most disturbed for some reason. His facial expression showed he was very disturbed by the details Jovi used to describe the ghostly peons. He stood listening to Nett speak with his eyes hidden under the brim of his green cap.

"This is… this was an unexpected loss. I'm sorry that you couldn't save him. But maybe we'll get the chance to rescue him at wherever the base is for this Neo Cipher, assuming this IS a form of Cipher we're dealing with.", Nett said to them.

"The possibility of Cipher Peons with personal cloaking abilities is actually very strong possibility here. In our investigation of the Cipher Key Lair years ago, Chief Sherles discovered blueprints for a device labelled; 'Specter Device' but we couldn't read what it was made of or how it was made because it was written in a code.", said Secc referring to Sherle's mass arresting of former Cipher members who remained at Cipher's facility after Michael's victory four years ago.

"From what we could tell just by looking at the drawings on it, it would completely render a person invisible as long as he or she didn't stand in direct sunlight. I might still have some pictures of it in our archives, but I won't go fetch them right now. We have something to show you Michael.", Secc said before letting Nett explain some more.

"Recently, we've been picking up many strange radio signals across the region for whatever reason. During some of our programs on TV there had been reports of the audio and video cutting out to display a blank white screen with white noise for a very brief moment. From the looks of it the sources of these broadcasts seemed to be coming from other regions far away from here. The television broadcasting programs from other regions have been interfering with our broadcasting. At first we were confused as to why this was happening... but then I discovered something VERY interesting after trying to clean the signal and establish our own frequency channel again. Secc and I spent an hour trying to keep the antenna on to this rogue radio channel that I believe came from the communication channels of Neo Cipher.", Nett said before lifting a remote control up to point at the TV monitor displaying their music player.

Michael, Jovi, Secc, and Bitt watched Nett select "strange_comms_ " on the screen and play it. The speakers beside the monitor suddenly started playing a strange raspy sound that echoed as words barely audible to the ears were muttered deep in the depths of the noise. The ambient sounds and static didn't let Michael nor Jovi hear anything. Bitt was just as clueless as they were. The sound ended before they could properly hear anything from it at all.

"Right now it's hard to hear anything out of it, but if I apply this filter….", Nett said before applying a sound trimming filter to the audio.

The sound was much clearer now, but the words spoken were mumbled in gibberish with the applied filter. Although it was hard to listen to, some words could be made out this time. Astonishingly they were able to hear something from this intercepted transmission after all.

"…..reached… agreement with…. Requesting permission…. for…. protocol… rendezvous… Lair….", the few barely audible words made out in their ears.

This gave Michael and his sister a small chill with goosebumps on their skin. The mysterious enemy is organized enough for long range communications from hidden corners in the entire Orre Region. Bitt couldn't keep his eyes off of the screen as he reviewed what he had just heard in his mind.

"It sounds like they're an organized group that's for sure… they mentioned a lair. Perhaps they're assembling at the Cipher Key Lair? That must be the place. It's so chock full of abandoned technology they must be trying to salvage what they can. They'll probably try to salvage the Shadow Pokémon processing machines too. I need to get there as soon as I can, and this time I'll be sure to destroy any leftover technology myself just so this doesn't happen again.", Michael stated his plan.

Suddenly, Nett's P DA rang. Everyone in the room turned their attention to him as he pulled it out and unfolded it open. He read the email for half a second before he suddenly slammed his hand on a TV remote, grabbed it, and quickly tune in to the news. Ancha was at her broadcasting station again declaring something important.

"This just in, in light of recent events a bomb squad was sent to investigate the remains of the destroyed relic stone in Agate Village's forest, however the team we sent has been reported to be under attack! Here is Marcia with live footage!"

The screen immediately jumped to Marcia in her blue shirt and dress taking cover behind their open cabin hover car with sounds of a battle nearby. The Marcia and the windmill gear spinner were taking cover beside their vehicle on the ground while the sounds of a Pokémon battle ensuing. Marcia faced the camera holding on to the one-sided headphone on her left ear.

"Ancha! We are here south of Agate Village with the windmill gear turner barely arrived at Agate Village's forest boundaries before a black hovertruck stopped us in our tracks and attacked us! Three of Pyrite Town's resident trainers are here with us trying to hold them off but they aren't-", she was cut off when suddenly one of their Hunters were blown back over the vehicle and landed between Marcia and Cameran with a fainted Dodrio sprawling its legs and heads in all directions.

"Tiruk?! Tiruk is knocked out!", Marcia proclaimed after examining the unconscious human body in front of her.

Cameran lifted his camera over the vehicle aim the camera at the scene of the battle. The darkness of the night didn't help Michael or the others properly identify the enemies at first, but as the camera was adjusted to the lack of light, they were clearly shown battling the struggling Bodybuilder with his Machoke and Tentacruel and the panicking Hunter with his Ledian and Ampharos.

Opposing the two trainers were three figures standing in front of a dark hover truck with blaring spotlights on its roof. Two of the figures clearly resembled the common Cipher Peon as was encountered during the second Shadow Pokémon crisis except with its white standout armor colored black with purple shoulder plates and shin guards. The third one however was much larger in stature and very familiar to Michael for he had battled this opponent once before in Agate Village late last night. The large adversary stood with its hands clenched on the sides of its waste. It wore a mask-helmet with an orange rectangular window as its porthole for seeing. It was heavily armored and expressionless at it stayed still in a single pose ignoring the damage dealt or the damage being dealt to its unusual foreign Pokémon.

The two Peons had Gengars and Skarmories respectively that merely supported the larger expressionless pawn's Pokémon. It was a large scorpion-like monster of a Pokémon that stood on four small insect legs and had a large torso with arms coming out the sides of its head with grabby claws at the end of them. Its tail had also had a claw that looked like it could grab hold of anything that was in reach and never let go. It's appearance looked similar to that of a Skorupi like what Jovi saw at the crater with her mother, but it looked to be an evolved form of that exotic Pokémon.

The Pokémon charged for the Hunter's Ledian and grabbed it before chomping down it with a brutal a Crunch attack. The Bodybuilder tried to command his Machoke in time to save Ledian but the opposing Gengar and Skarmory harassed it with Psychic and Flying Attacks. A Drill Peck missed Machoke but a super effective Psychic attack landed and immediately forced the Fighting type to collapse and faint. The Ledian stopped struggling and fainted before being dropped out of the monstrous exotic Pokémon's jaws. The two fainted Pokemon were forced to return to their masters.

"DO SOMETHING MAN!", Hunter Haxer pleaded to his Pokémon and ally in a cowardly voice.

Ampharos was charged by the quadruped desert insectoid Pokémon before it was grabbed. Haxer shouted Ampharos to use a Thunderbolt attack on the double. The Ampharos let loose a huge blast of electricity and forced the enemy Pokémon to cringe in pain.

In response, the tall expressionless armored pawn stepped forward breaking its stance and emitted a strange low pitched sound followed by different tunes of different pitches making an almost musical tune. It's monstrous Pokémon roared upon hearing it. Seeming empowered by the music emitted from its expressionless trainer, it landed an unidentifiable Dark Type slashing attack with an incredible Critical Hit. Ampharos stumbled backwards from its inflicted wounds and fainted.

"SMAAAASHED!", one of the opposing Cipher Peons exclaimed before laughing maniacally.

"Game over man! Game over…", Haxer said to himself in a panic after returning his Pokémon.

"Ah sacre bleu…", Doby said in his French accent before seeing his Tentacruel ganged up on by the Gengars, Skarmories, and the monstrous scorpion Pokémon.

Tentacruel was completely obliterated before it was returned to its Poke Ball. The Neo Cipher opposition was victorious. Bodybuilder Doby and Hunter Haxer retreated to the vehicle to join Marcia and the others. A Shadow Ball attack landed on the hover utility vehicle's controls, completely disabling it and eliminating any chance of escape for the six.

"They're coming this way and we're out of Pokémon to protect us!", Marcia stated on her microphone before Cameran turned the camera back to the Neo Cipher opposition briefly showing the two peons and the large expressionless pawn walking forward with their Pokémon standing by on the sand.

"Alright everyone! Here's the deal. Line up and sit yourselves in the back of our truck. I promise no one will get hurt…. Wait a minute. What's that there?!", the first Peon spotted Cameran holding the camera as he approached the pinned group of imminent hostages.

All of the sudden, one of their Skarmories darted at the camera and swiped the camera with its talons with Cameran gasping in astonishment of feeling the visual recording device disappear from his hands. The screen feed was darkened with the light adjustment unable to keep up with the camera shake. It stopped when it was finally grabbed by one of the dark Peons standing next to the tall expressionless masked pawn that seemed to be playing a gentle electronic tune from its heavily armored suit.

"This… what is this?", the second Peon asked his fellow Peon who had to walk around the tall pawn to join his ally.

The camera showed the two Peons looking at the camera through the shades on their black helmets. It wasn't until the second Peon took a closer look at the camera that he realized what was in their hands.

"That's a camera! You idiot! Turn it off!", the first Peon demanded.

"OH! …. Uh, how? Which button?", the second Peon asked the second one.

"Gaagh! Just destroy it! If this is recording live we've already been compromised!"

"Oh?! OH! Uh.", the first Peon hesitated in his decision making.

"Grrrrgh give me that!", the second peon said before taking the camera and throwing it at the exotic monstrous scorpion Pokémon.

In a swift instant, the camera broke in the Pokémon's claws and the live video footage went retired into white noise static. The screen returned to Ancha who was sitting speechless as she was trying to listen on to Marcia moments before all communication with the bomb squad was cut. Ancha faced the camera and stood up straight saying in a melancholy tone.

"It seems we've lost contact with Marcia... We can only hope she and the others are alright and that soon this criminal team which seems to have taken the form of the old Cipher syndicate will be brought to justice by our local heroes. Until our next news update, here are your regularly scheduled pre-recorded imported reruns of nature documentaries from the Kanto and Johto region. This is Ancha and you're watching the Orre News Broadcasting Station."

The moment the screen turned to an image of Mt. Silver in Johto the TV was turned off. Nett set his remote down on the counter and turned towards Michael and the others. Jovi was wide eyed in shock over what she had witnessed. Her brother was disturbed with the feeling of having to rescue them along with Phenac City's mayor. Bitt looked the other way as Secc looked to Nett with a troubled look on his face. Nett didn't know what to say or feel. There was silence for a solid minute before Michael spoke up.

"I'll find them! And I'll find Mayor Trest too! Don't worry, these are as good as gone. I bet they're making their base of operations at the Cipher Key Lair-"

Suddenly the sliding automatic door was opened to its fullest with force and in came Duking with a furious expression on his face. Everyone in the room looked to see he was not pleased with what he saw on television. Bitt tried to hide in a corner.

"Who, in the world, told my daughter to go out there and get herself captured?! WHY?! Who sent them there?!", he demanded angrily to know who was responsible for sending his daughter to the enemy.

"I did sir, I wanted samples from the shrapnel in the explosion site.", Nett took responsibility for what happened.

"And for that you had to send a camera crew?!", responded Duking still clinging on to his anger.

"Well… no. I didn't assemble the team. Bitt put together the people who'd go to Agate Village. He just felt it necessary for Marcia and Cameran to go.", admitted Nett.

Duking stood calming himself down for a moment before turning to the green capped kid standing in the corner looking away from everyone. Secc, Nett, and the siblings saw this and watched Duking confront the guilt driven kid.

"Why? Now they're out there in who knows what part of Orre they've got them locked up in. They're all gone! My daughter is gone… what do you have to say for yourself?!"

"They arent'! …. They weren't…. They're….", Bitt tried to defend himself but found that he couldn't face Duking's intimidating presence with his apparent guilt.

"It can't be entirely his fault fault, how was he supposed to know a Neo Cipher patrol was out there? It's just plain unlucky if you ask me.", Secc joined in Bitt's defense.

"I'll find them. I'll find Marcia, Cameran and the others and bring them back as soon as I can.", Michael declared to Duking taking his attention away from Bitt. Duking stood looking Michael in the eyes seeing him not flinch to his intimidation when he's angered. The mustached burly man could see he meant his word.

"I trust you mate. But after my daughter comes home, we're leaving this forsaken region. It's not worth trying to keep our memory alive to live out here in desolation for the rest of our lives. Pyrite Town is overdue to be abandoned just as the Under was.", Duking said to him.

"Good. I think that's a great idea. We should all think about leaving this land for opportunities in other regions. But as you can see with what we just saw, we shouldn't leave without first stopping whatever this new Cipher is. I need your help. I need everyone's help before we go. For Orre and the rest of the world, we can't let another criminal syndicate take control of this land and exploit what the original Cipher left behind. Alright?", Michael declared once again.

After hearing this, Duking turned to look at Nett sitting at his seat looking back at him with a nod in agreement with the red haired teen. Duking turned to Secc who seemed ready to nod before he was dismissed when Duking turned back to Bitt who was still looking down on the floor in self-pity. Duking returned to facing Michael before he spoke in his response.

"Fine… this wouldn't be the first time a loved one of mine was kidnapped by the likes of Cipher before a kid with a machine on his arm rescued her I guess... Do you have a plan?", he asked the red headed teen who seemed to have a plan already.

Michael didn't hesitate to express what he had planned since they left Phenac City. Everybody in the room including his sister and Bitt listened to what he had to say.

"I am going to go to the Cipher Key Lair tonight. Seth is already on his way there. I'm going to join him and investigate the factory for anyone or anything that shouldn't be there." he explained.

"Tonight? With Seth? That Magician?", Nett asked.

"Yes. I'm not waiting any longer for Cipher to establish their bases of operations. I'm taking the most powerful Pokémon I have with me just to be sure nothing goes wrong.", Michael answered.

"But Seth… we interviewed him one time right? Ancha interviewed him a while ago, right?", asked Nett.

"Right, yesterday he was here for an interview seeing as he was the only significant thing we could find since Michael's story with the thieving Kalos inventor… What about him?", Secc asked.

"When I met him, he didn't seem very…. amiable to me or my sister when we greeted him on the first floor… to say the least. I mean, he was nice and polite and all… He even pulled a rose out of Megg's ear and gave it to her… but something about his look just… gives me a bad feeling."

"Oh Nett he's harmless.", Megg said unexpectedly entering the room with her Shroomish sleeping in her arms.

Megg joined the conversation as she stood casually in the opposite corner of where Bitt stood listening silently. Seven people were in the room now involved in this conversation. Duking spoke his thoughts on the magician.

"Say come to think of it… he did look like he had something to hide when I saw him yesterday. A strange bloke he is.", Duking added to the notion suggesting Seth is working with Neo Cipher.

"Oh please…", Megg said unamused by the suspicions.

"Seth isn't a bad guy! Michael and I know, he's alright!", Jovi said defending the person in question.

"What makes you so sure? Did you ask him?", Nett asked his question directed to Michael and Jovi.

"I'm not, but we asked him up front in Phenac City earlier. He was there helping us find the car battery. And the entire time I was there he knew I was suspecting him of something. In the end though when I told him how I really didn't like his look and how I suspected him, he told me something that suggested that he might have been a former Cipher lab scientist. He knows how to utilize the secret of Neo-Evolution as he said scientists in a secret branch of Cipher's science team called it… he promised us he can be trusted. But if we had questions we could always email him via email on our P DAs.", said Michael standing by his sister's side of the debate.

"Do you trust him, Michael?", Nett asked him suddenly turning everyone's judgment in the room to the one person in the room capable of bringing down an entire syndicate through sheer determination.

Michael was silent for a moment. He already stated his final judgement to Seth himself. He would like to refuse to answer this question as he is still not sure himself; but seeing as it will bother him and delay him the chance to raid the abandoned Shadow Pokémon factory tonight he answered anyway.

"I believe he is on our side. I'm going to go to the Cipher Key Lair and join him in his investigation. Meanwhile all of you can do what you can to help stop Cipher one last time. Professor Krane and Lily are already researching information on all of these newly discovered Pokémon in Orre and beyond for all of us to see on our Strategy Memos through downloadable files in our emails. Eagun is planning to evacuate everyone left in Agate Village to Gateon Port's Pokémon Center two days from now but he'll be keeping watch over the village in the mean time. Everyone is doing their part, but I just need to know if everyone here will help too.", he said concluding his answer in the process.

"Of course Michael, we'll do everything we can to help. The last of our henchmen in the Colosseum can scout places that need scouting. I'll keep in touch with the manager in Realgam Tower's resort too. Oh, and If you can find anything technical like say a Data ROM or a something of the sort that you think I could look over feel free to give it to me.", Nett answered while suddenly making Michael remember something Nett could look over that he and Jovi found in the desert lab. Without hesitation, he slipped it out of his waist bag and handed over the broken dubious device. Nett took it with a nod before listening to what Duking had to say.

"I would go hunting for that new Cipher but if I were to leave Pyrite nobody would be watching the gate for more shady blokes. I'll keep the hotel open and tended to. Anyone is welcome to rent a room free of charge before we all get out of here. Food will be provided for breakfast and supper but lunch will cost 500 Poke Dollars per person." Added Duking saying what he'll do to contribute to the war effort against Neo Cipher.

"We can try deciphering more of this audio. Maybe even finding more communication channels to intercept and record! But we'd have to take control of the antenna and cut our broadcasting…. Perhaps we'll just settle on deciphering what we have now.", said Secc looking back at the monitor that still has the audio player on display.

"I'll…. Keep an eye out. I guess.", Bitt said with no real confidence in his voice.

"I'll stay up front and do my duty as I always have. Shroomish may not have evolved since the last time he needed to battle, but his Sleep Powder attack won't fail.", Megg expressed her faith in her Pokémon's ability to put enemies to sleep as she shifted her snoozing little Shroomish in her arms.

"Awesome! We're all settled then. A final send off to our story in Orre, with kicking this Neo Cipher syndicate back to the past where they belong!", said Michael ready to rush out on his journey.

"Yeah! We're going to beat so many bad guys! I get to watch you battle big bro! Just like the old days! Hee hee I can't wait! It's gonna be EPIC!", Jovi shrieked excited to see her brother answer his own call of duty.

Michael turned to his giddy sister who stopped bouncing in place when she saw his sorry expression in his eyes as he shook his head. Jovi's expression changed from being joyful to curious before she asked what was the matter. The red headed teen explained.

"I'm not letting you come with me. You saw what happened with Trest and your Litwick. You saw what happened just now with the bomb squad out there. It's not safe."

"But you don't have to worry! I'll stick with you and never wander away or anything! Also, I can help! Like if you're ever outnumbered or… please?", she pleaded.

Michael saw that she was giving the sad pleading little baby sister look again. Her big blue eyes and upside down smile tempting Michael to make an exception to his rule as he hated seeing her sad. After reviewing the premises for his decision he reluctantly reinforced his justification.

"I can't risk it...please don't give me that look. You saw what happened in the desert lab, heck you experienced it! You saw how you had Litwick in your arms before it jumped off and attacked an invisible man that just disappeared into flames. There are bad guys out there probably using some sort of cloaking technology. Specter Peons they're called right?", Michael turned in the middle of his lecture to check with Nett. Nett nodded confirming the strong possibility of the secret project they discovered coming to life in the present day.

" I don't want to risk losing you to some sneaky covert Peon. I don't want to put you in any more danger… I know you're going to be an official trainer now, but I can't have you come with me on these dangerous missions. It was a mistake to bring you with me today little sis… I'm sorry."

"Oh… oh big brother. It's okay! I understand really... I wish I could be there to help but I guess I need to be a lot stronger to keep up with you huh? And maybe have more than two Pokémon… and maybe be a little… heh… smarter I think…", Jovi said looking down with her head tilted very slightly with a small sincere smile.

"No, not even that. I mean, er, you're just not ready! I mean-", Michael was interrupted in trying to reassure Jovi she isn't a burden before she looked back at him shaking her head.

"Oh Michael stop it. I understand completely... Just get out there and be the best you can be big bro! I'll wait here cheering you on until you come back safe and sound. Alrighty? Go get em!", she said with a cheer for her heroic brother.

He was silent for a brief moment. Seeing her expression she showed she was alright being left out of this adventure. Michael smiled and nodded with relief knowing Jovi understood why he can't risk bringing her with him. He turned to everyone who was still in the room and announced something.

"Keep an eye on my sister while I'm gone alright? I'll be back.", he said to everyone.

Nett, Secc, and Megg nodded while Duking said "Aye" in confirmation with the red headed teen's request. Bitt didn't seem very responsive as he stared inattentively at the monitor on the wall. Michael proceeded to say goodbye before walking out the room to leave them.

They were left alone. Nett turned towards everyone calling everyone's attention including Jovi's. Duking stepped forward as they listened to what he had to say while Megg and Secc directed their attention to Nett as well. Just as he was about to begin giving a pep talk to everyone about to resume their duties, the door opened again with Michael having returned from an extremely short departure.

"Huh?! What is it big bro?", Jovi asked before seeing him take out a handful of Poke Balls containing his Pokémon in the palms of his Snag Machine mounted hand and free hand.

"I'm lending you one of my Pokémon, or two of them, or three, or four, er, however many you think you'd need if you need to fend for yourself.", Michael said apparently concerned for his sister's safety.

"What? You don't think we can handle a couple Cipher goons?", Duking asked pretending to be offended.

"I'm not saying that I don't have faith in any of you…. I just wanted to leave my sister with a little more security that's all. It's the least I could do for bringing her out here at the wrong time. ", Michael explained to Nett, Secc, Megg, and Duking with a sincere gesture even though he could vividly remember the time Cipher invaded the ONBS building when there were far more trainers and employees in the building capable of defending themselves.

"Alright well anyway, here you go Jovi. Take your pick!", he said to his sister holding the capsules of his six party Pokémon.

In front of Jovi in her brother's palms were six Poke Balls of different variety. A single Poke Ball contained Michael's Umbreon. Three Great Balls containing a Claydol, Hitmonchan, and a Rhydon. A single Ultra Ball held his Zapdos. The last capsule was a Master Ball that held Michael's most powerful Pokémon under his ownership used usually for the most important non-competitive battles, Lugia was even offered for the novice trainer to choose.

A lot of these Pokémon intimidated Jovi too much for her to even think about picking them; however she wasn't afraid of the one familiar Pokémon she knew when it was just an Eevee under their father's care. If Michael would let her, she'd pick his trusty Moonlight Pokémon to keep herself and her two Cheering Pokémon well defended.

"Is Umbreon okay to pick?", she asked pointing at the single common Poke Ball. Michael seemed a little surprised to see her pick his first Pokémon instead of any of the other options.

"Oh? Umbreon? Are you sure you about that? I mean any of these Pokémon could work for you. If not I can always go swap with another Pokémon from the PC if you'd like or…", the brother offered his sister.

"No no Umbreon is good enough. I hope you won't mind big bro.", Jovi said not wanting to keep him here any longer than he needs to.

"Oh no no problem. Alright then here you are. Umbreon is now yours until I come back; which I will be back real soon. Take care of him in the meantime.", Michael said to her as he entrusted her with his very first Pokémon.

"I'm off! I'll see you all later. Take care nothing happens while I'm gone. If something does happen and you need help though, please email me ASAP. That goes for you too Jovi. If anything goes wrong email me a message right away and I'll come around and stomp anyone or anything causing us trouble. Alright?"

"Yeppers! Now get going big brother! Time's a wasting!", Jovi exclaimed to her brother reminding him not to waste any more time than he already has.

"Okay! Oh, and one last thing Nett and all of you guys. Beware a man named Agnes Cade. He claims to be a salesman from Kanto but Seth and I suspect him of being somehow related to the old Cipher. His name is a little too similar to Evice's undercover alias 'Es Cade' when he was Phenac City's mayor nine years ago.", Michael warned the crew.

Duking was the first to react in shock of the concept of Evice returning to Orre as a mastermind for Cipher again. Nett and Secc scowled in response to this new insight of information as memories of an old Cipher threat returned to them. Megg was just as concerned as her brother, but Bitt did not emote at all to this new information.

Michael finally got to say goodbye to everyone one last time before leaving the small compound again on to the illuminated roof and down the stairs back into the third floor. On his way out he retrieved another Pokémon from his PC to fill in the space left behind by his Umbreon. After retrieving Houndoom, he ran out through the single dusty street into Pyrite Town's gate and set off on his hover cycle towards the Cipher Key Lair with his headlight to light his way.

Jovi stood outside watching her brother zoom across the sand kicking up dark sandy clouds in the distance. Megg, with her Shroomish still sleeping in her arms, walked out and joined Jovi in watching the fading light of her brother's vehicle in the distance. While they stood outside, they could hear Nett talking inside with Secc, Duking, and Bitt on what they must do now.

"Look at him go…", Megg said squinting her eyes to keep the illuminated light of the roof from blinding her as she looked out into the horizon.

"Heh yeah. Once he knows where to go he'll just zip right over whenever he can. I just hope he'll be alright out there doing what he does best… Ha ha I'm sure he will be. I know it.", Jovi said with a smile and a nod knowing he'll be back in a couple hours.

"Hey you two! Come in and listen to Nett's plan for the moment will ya?", Duking requested of them at the door.

The two girls walked back inside and let the automatic door close behind them. Nett was in his chair ready to speak as Duking, Secc, and reluctantly Bitt stood ready to listen to him. The red shirted teen spoke clearly.

"Alright. Michael will be back in a few hours. For now what we all must do is gather as much information as we can about Cipher. We need to look back and see what Cipher could have had in the works and what they intended to do but not have done in the past. Sherles has left documents and reports in our archives for us to go over if need be."

"Can I set on deciphering more of this message?", Secc asked.

"Sure. The more information we can get the better."

"Awesome. Alright then."

"As for you Bitt.", Nett called Bitt's direct attention as he seemed fixated on the monitor for some reason.

"Uh, yeah?", Bitt responded.

"You'll go out and patrol the streets and the Colosseum until I can find more use from you."

"… Alright.", Bitt agreed without question.

"The remaining employees in this building will be busy maintaining the broadcasts of our imported shows on TV. I'll need to investigate what these foreign television broadcasts are coming from but for now they seem to be acting as smokescreens for Neo Cipher's communication transmissions. And-", he was cut off again by a sudden P DA ringtone before everyone's P DA suddenly rang at the same time.

Everyone looked into their inbox on the spot and discovered an email from Professor Krane. Attached to it was a downloadable file for their Strategy Memos. The file seemed to have been sent to everyone the Professor recognized as a friend of the family and ally for Michael's mission. It was titled, "New Pokémon Data Set #1" with the accompanying text, "Lily and I have completed our research on twenty newly discovered Pokémon from the Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos Regions! Stay tuned for more updates."

"Oh… well that's handy I guess.", Nett said.

Jovi giggled to imagine how Michael would probably have been sent the email too. Knowing him, he'd probably stop and quickly check it hoping it wasn't from her or Nett saying there's trouble stirring up in Pyrite Town even though it's only been ten minutes since he left.

"Huh, so that's what that Pokémon was that attacked them… a Drapion?", Secc exclaimed looking at the strange purple monstrous scorpion Pokémon on his P DA screen.

"All of these Pokémon look so exotic and weird…. I'll have a look at them later though, for now we must get back to our stations and do what we can to keep our town in order at least until Michael comes back."

"Will do.", Duking said before he stated that he will be at the Pyrite Grand Hotel preparing rooms and cooking dinner for any guests who want to rent a room for free tonight.

Duking proceeded to walk out the door leaving the kids behind in the room. Megg held her Shroomish gently as she watched Bitt shake his head dismissively at something. Curious, she called out to him.

"Hey Bitt? What's the matter?"

"Huh? Oh uh I was just… thinking what a shame it is Silva isn't here anymore. Yeah heh… it's a shame."

"I say it is. Knowing him he'd probably grab a disguise and be our spy among them just as he always did! Haha that was hilarious!", Secc exclaimed with a laugh.

"Hey… hey wait a minute. You just made me realize something Secc.", expressed Nett with his sudden epiphany.

"Oh? What?"

"I realized that we… can call for help! We still have their P DA numbers. We can try to communicate with Silva, Sherles, Johnson, anybody! Even…. oh wait… well… I don't know."

"That sounds like a good plan but what?!", Secc asked still curious as to why he has to cut off every explanation.

"Wes?... Could we try to message Wes?", Nett asked with great doubt.

A sudden change of atmosphere was apparent in the room. The thought of having this legendary trainer return to help destroy Neo Cipher once and for all was great and would fill everyone with hope, but it seems something was off for the kids that once knew him. Jovi was suddenly very intrigued by Wes' mention. She remembers Michael talking about wanting to meet Wes before. She remembers reading about Wes in the acquired digital documents from the desert lab. This legendary hero of Orre that destroyed Cipher five years before Michael had Cipher destroyed a second time was a mysterious individual that disappeared with his friend and Pokémon after it was all over in their time.

"Wes? He hasn't answered any of our emails for the longest time. If Rui had a P DA we would message her but for all we know she never had one.", Megg explained.

"That's right. He'd be cool to have come back but ever since that last email... Here let me check for a moment.", Secc said before looking deep into his messy inbox for ancient undeleted messages dating back eight to five years ago.

"Their last message was just a photo of a solar eclipse over some place in the Kanto Region. Wes and Rui were there to see it and they just took a snapshot and sent it to us for laughs with the title 'Neat, huh?'. But ever since that day… they never sent us any more emails and they never responded to any message we've sent. I wish I knew why…"

"Hey, were they boyfriend-girlfriend?", Jovi asked out of innocent curiosity trying not to smile like a little girl.

"I think they were… Haha! Yeah they were…. Now that I look back at these old messages I wonder if maybe they were in love with each other. They seemed pretty happy.", said Secc looking at the titles and content of Wes and Rui's emails coming from Wes' P DA.

"Awwh...", Megg expressed out loud imagining the two teens she met long ago becoming a lovey dovey couple.

"Ohh? Aww that's so cuuute.", Jovi added with a smile on her face.

"But that's irrelevant right now. We can try contacting him again. And while we're at it, let's try to make contact Gonzap as well! I'm sure he of all people would like to help us put an end to Cipher. If I don't recall; he switched sides when Michael battled him during the second crisis and helped fight Cipher alongside him. He could even regroup some of his old Team Snagem members if we're lucky and they'd help us too! I'll be right on that right on that now. You are all dismissed. Let's try to give it our all before we leave Orre soon."

Secc sat back down in his chair with his P DA set to connect to the music playing program on the monitor to continue deciphering the transmission. Bitt hesitated for a moment looking at the screen on the wall before walking past Jovi and Megg out of the room. Megg, still holding her sleeping Shroomish, followed him out. Jovi was left standing in the room with Secc and Nett working at their stations. She was confused on what she should be doing right now.

"Um… So what do I do?", Jovi asked the red shirted teen.

"Oh? You can just take a look around if you want. Stay in the building and just relax in our lounge on first floor. There's a food dispenser down there for your Pokémon and a water cooler if you're thirsty. There's also a TV too if you want to watch some of our imported programs. Oh! And there's an ice cream cooler too if you'd like some of that.", the boy said to her before returning to typing on his P DA.

Jovi thought about her options at hand. Seeing no reason to deny herself a free ice cream and her Pokémon a free meal she decided to accept her decision of going to the lounge on the first floor.

"Maybe I'll find some of Michael's favorite ice cream down there.", she thought to herself although she knew Sea-Salt ice cream is really hard to find.

She thanked Nett and walked out of the compound. The soft cool breeze of the badlands at night brushed against her face as soon as she stepped out. Some of her blue hair blew over her eyes when she spotted someone walking past Fateen's hut. When she cleared her eyesight she still couldn't tell who it was skulking around in the light of the single cluster of lampposts in the street.

"Oh it's probably just Bitt on patrol like Nett said. Nothing to worry about."

She walked down the stairs and made her way down the two descents of elevators to the first floor. She made it to the second door on her left past the door to the first floor's shooting studio. She walked in to see a cozy little lounge with a Pokémon Food dispenser against a wall and a few couches around tables to rest on. A TV screen was mounted on the wall opposite of the couches facing the screen. The ice cream cooler and water cooler were located right next to the doorway taking up the space between the door and the leftmost wall. It seems to have been a room for a different purpose at one time according to the marks on the ceiling and the irregularity of the floor boards.

"Welp! Let's get comfortable then shall we?"

In less than two minutes, Mimi and Pluplu were happily munching on food pellets from the dispenser on the floor. Michael's Umbreon rested beside the dispenser against the wall watching the room from where he lay. Jovi returned from the ice cream cooler with a Pecha Berry Popsicle. Although disappointed by not having found her brother's rare flavor of ice cream; she enjoyed herself relaxing on lounge couch and watching reruns of the Pokémon Trozei anime she is quite fond of.


	7. Episode 4 Part 2 of 2

Michael was halfway across the dark desert on his hover bike. He previously felt uneased by the sudden message from Professor Krane on his P DA that scared the red headed teen into thinking the team he left in Pyrite needed his help again. But after he stopped to read the message he breathed a sigh of relief knowing it was just his mentor in the HQ Lab.

As he dashed across the sand in the pit of night with goggles over his eyes, he began hearing the engine of his ride beginning to make more noise than usual. At first he paid no attention to it but when he slowly came to a stop a couple miles away from the entrance to the chasm the Cipher Key Lair was left presumably abandoned, he realized that his bike was run entirely on batteries. It had no engine.

He quickly turned off his headlight to look up at the sky and see the outline of a gyrocopter hovering far overhead. It seems to be joined by two other copters apparently patrolling the skies over the Cipher Key Lair. Knowing that the Neo Cipher opposition may have already spotted Michael on his way to the factory did not deter him despite the uneasiness he was feeling right now. He continued on his way to the factory of dark intentions with only the light of the moon piercing through holes in the clouds to guide him.

He parked his bike at the edge of the canyon and trotted down an uneven stone cut path careful not to fall into the polluted abyss left behind by the evil syndicate. A feeling of a familiar dread returned to him as he treaded the path, but somehow it also felt a little nostalgic to be venturing into unknown territory again.

Michael set his eyes on the moonlit factory once again after years of never having seen again. Its protective diamond shaped shielding seems to have been breached at the top with shattered glass-like remains strewn about on the interior buildings inside. He doesn't remember ever seeing its protective barrier broken like that.

As he approached the front elevated standing grounds of the factory via the metallic cat walk that still stood after four years, the smell of the old pollution left behind by Cipher in the large pit that surrounded the facility assaulted his nostrils. A rustic smell of acid and odorous minerals forced Michael to gag occasionally and insisted him to hurry on to the main entrance platform connecting to the large ramp up to the factory's entrance. He ran up the ramp and charged into the instillation. He burst in expecting to see Neo Cipher Peons ready to greet him, but nobody was there in the metal corridor he stood.

"…. No one?... Where's Seth?", he asked himself.

He looked both ways in the hall way. He was in the southern part of the first floor at the entryway. Directly ahead of him was the metal door to the first machine assembly inspection room. Trying to remember his pathway to the top, he recalled there are three stairways on the three corners of the first floor. Three are accessible but only two of the three lead to the second floor. The northwestern stairway leads to the basement room where cargo inspection is.

"I don't hear machines running… the lights are dimly lit…", he observed before walking forward through the automatic doorway ahead of him into the first room.

Upon entering he could easily see what was missing from the room that he remembered discovering years ago. Machines have been ripped from their places just the rooms in the desert lab. The conveyer belt that used to sit at the far edge of the room was replaced with torn up metal floor boards and wires strewn about with loose sparks occasionally arcing off of each other. Large mechanical arms that used to stand in the western edge of the room were missing. A single reactor was left in the corner of the room when there used to be two opposite of each other. In the center of the room was a table with a purple item chest sitting on top of it. There appeared to be a small paper note attached to its lid.

The red headed teen approached the box and took the note. He read what it said.

"Michael. Take this with you. It will help you find the Specters lurking in this facility. I found it during a quick investigation of the basement floor. I got tired of waiting so I'm probably on the fourth floor by now searching for answers… Seth."

Michael dropped the note on the table and opened the purple item chest. He found a strange ocular scope of some kind. He held it up flipping it in all directions and looking through the looking glasses it provided. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't find any button to turn it on.

"Hold on a moment… maybe there's a way….", he said before feeling around the device for a detachable component.

He found an opening and forced a small chip out of its socket. He took his Aura Reader from the comfort of his left ear and ejected the Shadow Aura viewing program chip. He put in his Key Items pocket for safe keeping and inserted the dubious chip in his visor device that had seen no use in his new adventure up until this point. He put the Aura Reader back on his left ear and activated it; extending its visor over his left eye.

"The program chip for 'Cipher Scope' has been read. It will activate when something invisible is in my way… wait so that means that…"

Michael took a moment to think over this. He smiled upon coming to a conclusion to his apparent debate in his mind. He made up a new name for the new variant of his Aura Reader.

"… My Aura Reader is now a… Ghost Seeker! Haha! Ah uh…. That sounded a lot cooler in my head.", he admitted before he felt like somehow somewhere someone is reeling in shame for how dumb he sounded.

He smiled with a blush as he scratched the back of his head embarrassment. He stopped smiling and jumped when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him walking past the doorway. He ran out and looked in all directions for the source of the noise.

His "Ghost Seeker" activated sliding its visor over his left eye. The words, "Invisible entity detected!", were displayed in his sights. He looked to his right towards the western hall of the floor, but nothing was there. He turned to his left towards the eastern hall and briefly saw something peeking from around the corner in the sights of his visor.

"Hey! Is there anybody there?!", he called before reconsidering the notion of letting every being in the factory know he's there.

"Wait a minute; if Seth came through here he must still be up there on the fourth floor. But if there's still Specter Peons around he might still be battling them up ahead or… he lost to them? No. No he's probably up there. I'll just have to find out for myself."

Keeping his visor over his left eye, the red headed protagonist ventured through the metal hall to the northeastern corner of the floor and ascended to the dimly lit second floor corridors. Looking down one way towards the northeastern corner was a familiar crate of Pokémon Food blocking the way. He looked down the way to the southeastern corner and saw a figure standing between him and another Pokémon Food Crate. A Neo Cipher Peon dawning light weight white armor over protective black latex stood watching through its unusual four segmented visor on his helmet with a breathing filter of some sort covering his mouth. It matched Jovi's description of the invisible Cipher-esque apparitions Michael can confirm she saw.

Michael froze in place staring at the Peon. He blinked his left and right eyes to ensure it was in fact a Specter Peon in his way watching him from the distance. He took a few steps forwards with a couple Poke Balls holding his Houndour and Hitmonchan ready for a battle. The Specter Peon stood there silently expressionless on his face but gesturing a slight emotion of uneasiness.

"I see you.", Michael announced to him with a devious grin before running at him with his Poke Balls.

Startled, the masked Peon uncloaked and threw out two Pokémon to fight.

In a flash of an easy battle, Michael defeated the Specter Class Neo Cipher Peon, Humah. Humah's Kecleon and Magneton lay fainted on the metal floor with Hitmonchan and Houndour standing victorious. 500 Poke Dollars have been transferred to Michael's account as prize money from Humah's P DA.

"Gotcha! Now tell me, who's in charge here?! Why have you all come back to Orre?!", Michael demanded answers.

The Peon was silent as he returned his fainted Pokémon. He stood looking through his visor on his helmet at Michael. The Peon's expression was hidden behind his breathing mask. He shook his head at Michael provoking a defensive stance from the victor's Hitmonchan and Houndoom facing him.

"Do you remember me?", the Specter Peon's electronic filtered voice sounded out from behind his mask.

"I asked you first!", Michael asked back defensively unsure of what trick the Peon is trying to pull.

"I remember you… that thing on your arm… you won't just let us be will you?", the Peon responded.

Michael stood unsure of what he's trying to communicate to him. He was about to ask what he meant until he was briefly blinded by a bright light. When he regained his vision the enemy had disappeared. Hitmonchan and Houndoom looked in all directions for the missing foe and Michael tried activating his Aura Reader to find him again. The Specter Peon was nowhere to be seen despite having been cornered less than a minute ago.

"… I guess they still like to just blink out of sight whenever they lose… heh.", Michael observed chuckling as he felt a certain sense of nostalgia for his first victory against a cowardly Peon on four years.

He returned his Hitmonchan and Houndoom before he began pushing the large Pokémon Food Crate in his way down the hall. He pushed far enough to reach the doorway to the secluded way to the single staircase to the third floor. The Snag Machine wielding teen ventured further without hesitation.

Upon stepping off of the stairs on the third floor, he turned around to scan his surroundings. Standing in the opposite side of the stairway on his floor appeared to be another Neo Cipher Peon looking away from him. He seemed to be dozing off.

Michael snuck near him to get a closer look at this grunt. This Peon did not wear lightweight armor like the Specter Peon counterparts. Its armor composition seemed to closely resemble that of the agents Michael used to face during the last incident. The Peon wore dark-violet colored armor consisting of a protective breastplate, shoulder armor with the left one larger than the right, deltoid braces, large pointed armored gauntlets, shin guards attached to large tempered boots, and a utility belt around the waist. A black lowercase Delta symbol seemed to be an emblem imprinted on the left shoulder plate. The Peon's helmet appeared to be in the same style as the familiar fashion of helmets Michael has seen in his time with a free visible face concealing only the eyes under its visor.

The Peon seemed to be asleep as he was standing in place. Michael stood in front of him and waved his right hand in front of his face. The grunt did not respond.

"This guy is knocked out... I guess I shouldn't bother him… or maybe….", Michael contemplated the thought of giving this Neo Cipher Peon a rude awakening just to force him into a battle.

"It would be a free win…. Nnrrgghhhh but I really need to meet up with Seth… oh forget it! Maybe next time.", he made the choice to leave the sleeping grunt alone.

He stepped out of one of the four doorways in the room into the hall. Looking down at the floor he stood he remembered this floor was once a puzzle that involved two more crates of Pokémon Food blocking the hallways. He could see one of two panels on the floor, the one he could see depicting the moon. Looking around the corner he could see the panel with an artistic depiction of the sun. It seems the doors to proceed have been kept open even without the mechanism having needed to be triggered.

Michael took advantage of this convenient opportunity. He headed towards the northeastern doorway kept open by the factory's occupiers. He was about to pass when his Aura Reader acted up again. An invisible entity was blocking his way. He stood still and identified it to be another Specter Peon standing between him and the stairs to the fourth floor. This Peon appeared to be female.

"You shall not pass.", the Specter said to him.

"That's right kid. You're too late to do anything anyway.", a male voice said behind Michael.

He turned to see the standard Peon he just saw by the stairs awake and walking towards him with Poke Balls in his hand ready. Michael knew he should have done something about him earlier instead of letting him be. He thought it was suspicious of him to just sleep standing in place anyway. In response, Michael drew his Hitmonchan and Houndoom's Poke Balls ready for another battle as he spoke back to them.

"Why are you here?! Who are you two working for?!", he demanded out of the two foes surrounding him.

"We are here to protect our future.", the Specter Peon replied the most through her electronic filtered voice.

"You'll probably beat all of us 10 to 1, but as long as we stand we'll do our best to keep you from reaching the end, kid. The world is about to change.", the standard Peon added before sending out a Crobat.

The Specter sent out a Milotic to oppose Michael. The space was too crowded in the hall for Michael to send out any of his Pokémon. This realization suddenly made him panic in the claustrophobic wall of imminent attacks.

Crobat hurled a Sludge Bomb and Milotic shot a Hydro Pump. Michael crouched and fell flat on the floor before the attacks could impact him. The attacks flew over him and hit each their unintended targets instead. Milotic was briefly stunned from the Sludge Bomb attack, leaving Michael enough time to slip around the corner and dispense immediate justice with his Zapdos and Claydol sent out instead of his Houndoom and Hitmonchan.

In a flash of electric crackles and super effective attacks, the Specter Peon Kollo and Standard Peon Gorog were defeated. Michael achieved victory with 1000 Poke Dollars transferred to his account as prize money. The foes stood defenseless standing in shame of their defeat with their Pokémon returned to their capsules.

"It's impossible to beat you… but maybe soon someone will prove me wrong.", the Standard Peon said looking away in defeat.

"You stayed here all of these years?... Just how long do you really think you've been here?", the Specter Peon said looking down on the floor.

The two Peons blinked out of sight, allowing Michael passage to the next floor. He couldn't bring himself to run to the second floor with the words spoken by the Specter that troubled his mind. Usually when he defeated Cipher Peons they tend to complain about losing before disappearing or act similarly to that caliber, but these Neo Cipher Peons he's encountered so far have been acting really strange compared to his more familiar encounters years ago.

"… Were they told to act so strange towards me?... Were they just given lines to taunt me after they lose? They knew I was coming that's for sure. That sleeping grunt was just pretending the whole time… I could have pickpocketed out of his utility belt if I really wanted to back there… I wonder if he'd react at all if I did… whatever. Let's get going.", Michael thought to himself before proceeding through the doorway into the metallic hallway into the next set of stairs upward.

As soon as he entered the fourth floor the immediate smell of burnt metal met with Michael's senses. He was in the southern hall with three paths originating from his location. The three pronged fork in his road had the option of going straight forward to a dead end, taking the right hand direction to another dead end, or take the obviously correct answer which is the left path taking him straight through an office space before going down the corridor to the next and final set of stairs.

"The truth is in here...", a familiar voice echoed through the halls.

Michael recognized the voice. He followed it into the western hall. When he turned around the corner, he suddenly beheld black smoldering metal on the floor beside the opened door to the office lab. The voice echoed again.

"Just as I suspected… there are more Pokémon capable of Neo Evolution than the ones I've seen… There must be a lot more out there we have yet to discover."

Michael approached the doorway and saw the familiar figure at a desk on a computer while a familiar Pokémon sat on the table ready to spit a blue ball of flames at him! He dodged away from the doorway and discovered why the metal was smoldering hot. The small familiar Pokemon appeared to be Jovi's Litwick.

"Hey! Hey Seth! Is that you?! And is that Litwick there?!,", Michael called to the gray haired magician as the teen peeked around the edge to see a confused little Candle Pokémon sitting on the table with its yellow eyes wide open.

"Michael? You actually made it tonight? And yes, this is your sister's missing Pokémon. I found him in the basement along with the Cipher Scopes for us to use.", Seth answered looking his way from his chair with his right hand on the keyboard.

"Yes! Yes I'm here. I've faced three Peons on my way up here. Surprisingly there aren't many people here it seems.", Michael explained before approaching Litwick offering a friendly gesture.

"Hi Litwick! I'm so glad you're safe!", greeted the red headed teen.

Litwick took a moment to recognize Michael. His green eyes and red spiky hair reminded it of his trainer's older brother that Litwick remembers once staying up all night with his trainer reading stolen files in the living room of their living quarters of the HQ Lab. That, along with the unique flavor of the extremely small portion of Michael's soul feeding the flame of his wick, let the Litwick recognize the Michael as Jovi's brother. The little candle-like Pokémon offered a little smile in recognizing a friendly face.

You'll be back with Jovi in no time. I'm so happy we could find you so quickly. Thank you so much Seth! Jovi's going to be so happy when we return Litwick to her. Thank you so much!", he expressed his gratitude towards Seth with a smile and a cheer.

Seth looked back at him with his blue eyes wide as if he was surprised.

"You didn't bring your sister? Did you leave her at home?", he asked with an apparent curiosity as he sat forward on his chair facing him.

"I left her at Pyrite Town with the ONBS Team and Duking. It was a mistake for me to bring her with me today and I didn't want to risk anything happening to her if I brought her with me here. As much as I would like to see her develop as a trainer, I can't risk putting her in danger just because I wanted to see her get a taste of what's it's like to be me… heh thinking about it, I guess it's kinda hard for anyone to really be like me. Not to sound narcissistic or anything but… well you know.", said Michael referring to how out of the ordinary his entire career as a trainer was.

"You left her at Pyrite?", Seth asked ignoring the rest of Michael's dialogue.

"…Yeah? Why?"

"You should send an email to her right now. As in, right RIGHT now. Ask her if she's alright.", Seth insisted with a serious tone.

Michael opened his P DA and immediately entered his email inbox to write a short email to his sister. After two minutes of suspenseful waiting, he received an email back from Jovi.

"I'm doing fine big bro! I was in the lounge but then I wanted to have a look outside. I found Agnes Cade in the street but he doesn't seem like a bad guy at all! He's actually very nice! I won a Woot Brand Candy and a Heart Scale from his Lottery Machine! Here have a look at this picture I took with him!"

Inside the attached file was a picture of Jovi and the rotund smiling man next to his strange capsule machine as was last seen in Gateon Port that day. Michael's sister was holding the P DA camera and her two prizes with her Plusle and Minun playing around on top of the machine. Agnes's bald head and pufts of hair on the side of his head and bowtie made him look innocent enough as the salesman he's claimed to be. This did not bode well with Michael however as his expression showed.

"Agnes is most definitely Evice. I discovered a transcript from an anonymous sender to an anonymous receiver detailing Evice's escape from a national prison. He went into hiding in Kanto with an alias for two years before being brought to Orre a few days ago on an airship. He has a secret division of Peons under his control that he apparently ordered to empty Phenac City. It's a high probability that Evice visits places he intends to completely empty as Agnes before he orders his Specter Peons to wisp people away overnight.", Seth revealed his discovery for the notion of Agnes being the old mastermind behind the first Shadow Pokémon crisis.

Michael couldn't stop keeping his shocked expression on his face. His mind was suddenly on full panic mode. Any previous concern over what he's experienced so far in the factory with the strange Peons and ripped up laboratories was gone and replaced with the large concern for his sister and his friends over at Pyrite. Evice would likely abduct her first before sending a full on assault of Peons on the ONBS building and the rest of the town. Seeing how empty the Key Lair is with only the few Peons he encountered made him realized the rest of the factory's defenders may already be there waiting for the word to begin their attack.

"Get back inside with Nett and the others. Don't EVER talk to that person. In fact, don't go outside until I get back, you hear me?! Tell Nett that they're in trouble!", read Michael's reply before he sent it to his sister.

He lowered his hands with the P DA still in his metal mounted left hand and looked up at the ceiling. He was very unsure of what he should be doing right now. The plan he had in his head has been rendered useless. If he were to turn back now he wouldn't be able to make it back in time to save anyone. His heart raced, his adrenaline rushed, but he was unable to move from his place. He felt so torn apart in his panic only to have his condition worsen when he began envisioning Jovi calling out for help as is slowly surrounded by Evice's Peons after obliterating the last of Pyrite Town's last line of defense of trainers. A feeling of helplessness and futility began settle upon him and quickly poisoned his spirit..

"Michael, I believe it is best if…. If…", the magician stopped in the middle of his suggestion to see his partner fall in despair.

Seth observed as fear began overtaking Michael's emotions. He stood with his hand over his face shaking in fear over what might be happening in Pyrite Town at this very moment. He stood silent appearing to be breathing in irregular intervals.

Seth, intrigued by this show of emotion, stood up from his chair and lurched forward. He could see small tear leaking from under Michael's hand over his face.

"You're… crying?... Er, you're afraid? For… your sister, right?", Seth asked trying to make sense of why Orre's hero is breaking up in a panic attack.

"I don't have en-enough time…. I-I can't be in two places… Jovi… my family… the friends I s-still have left… they're all going to disappear…everything… I can't…", Michael stuttered trying to cope with the weight of his responsibility.

"But we are still here… you are still here... As long as you're here, there's still hope for all of them…", Seth responded attempting to provide some sort of relief.

"I-I need more time… I-I need … I need to rethink….", Michael mumbled as he felt himself incapable of completing a thought in his head.

The magician, not really knowing how to provide comfort for this broken kid placed his right hand over Michael's right shoulder and gave him a single pat. Michael couldn't bring himself to give him any attention and remained facing the floor concealing his face under his right hand.

"You… you don't need to cry about it… what good does crying do?", Seth said with tone uncertainty in his own words.

"Everything is lost…. I-I can't protect anyone… I should have left her at home… or at the very least with Kaminko and…. Chobin….", Michael replied incapable of completing sentences through his quiet sobs.

Seth didn't respond. He looked at Litwick sitting on the table who seemed confused by this situation. He looked at the doorway to the next corridor to the last set of stairs. He looked back at Michael and gave him another pat on the shoulder trying to be as sympathetic as he could.

"I just…. I need… maybe I should just… give up…"

Hearing this suddenly unleashed a burst of inner rage from the cloaked magician. He forcefully smacked Michael on the back provoking him to let out a small yelp from an unexpected sting of pain. Seth sternly faced Michael and unleashed a mega barrage of a rant on to him as he listened with his hand off of his shocked flushed face.

"Snap out of it Michael! Are you serious?! Listen to yourself! You're Michael! Orre's Champion! This game hasn't even started yet! Don't talk to me about Red or Brendan or any of those overrated so called 'Champions' from the League Regions, you're smart enough to strategically beat anyone and anything to kingdom come and back! You put your faith in your Pokémon who believe just as much in their faith put in you. You helped purify them of their corrupted shut hearts and let them live again more powerful than ever! You're the living legend capable of bringing down an empire! I know I was hard on you earlier when I met you at Gateon Port, but you care a lot for your friends and family. Even though it looks bleak you feel like you're fighting a losing battle everything will be alright! So what if all of Orre's people are gone? So what if your friends and family can't defend themselves without you?! So long as you're here YOU are everyone's hopes as well as your own! You have the power! Do you understand?!"

Michael couldn't respond as he stood dumbfounded at what he was trying to say. Seth took a moment to recalibrate his thoughts. He continued speaking again but with a less aggressive and a more sympathetic tone as if he could relate to him on some level. The emotionally unstable teen listened keeping his eyes on the floor.

"… Listen… kid... Don't bother worrying about what you can't control… just move along, keep it strong, and hold on to yourself and your Pokémon… We've all been through something like this once… okay maybe not to this caliber but still. You didn't get this far just by giving up. You've beaten the odds before, you can do it again but now you're even stronger than ever. You're an unstoppable force of nature. We all believe in you… and that includes me too…. You can make it through. I know you'll make it through.", Seth encouraged him giving him a another pat on his right shoulder.

After he listened to his words, Michael looked back up at Seth with disbelief at how much emotion he put into encouraging him out of his emotional breakdown. He wasn't sure what to make of these sudden words of encouragement coming from Seth, but he did take to heart the words themselves. He looked at his sister's Litwick who seemed to be mimicking Seth's face towards him for a moment before giving him a smile and a tiny wave of its stubby little left arm.

Before Michael could say anything, his P DA rang again. The red headed teen took it out and opened it to his inbox. He read the message on the screen of his device held up by his left hand.

"Don't worry big bro! He just started leaving shortly after you messaged me last time. I asked him why but he just told me he had other places to be as he pushed his lottery machine. I'm gonna go spy on him from the top of the building if you don't mind."

Another message was attached to the email.

"It's hard to tell but it looks like he had friends? They're following him out of town? Ok maybe if he really was Evice he wouldn't just come and go with his pals like that right? Weird… but at least we're okay! Nett is aware now and rearranging security measures at the moment. Sorry if I scared you big brother!", apologized Jovi in her last message.

Michael emailed a small answer back and closed his P DA. He took a deep breath and sighed. He stood for a moment before he looked at Seth with eyes wide and a small half-smile of sincere gratitude. The gray haired magician gave a sympathetic look back for a brief moment before refusing to look directly at him anymore, but Michael proceeded in his expression of gratitude.

"Thank you Seth.… I guess it was stupid of me to react like that… it's never the end of the world … no matter how long it would take, I'd find them all and free them... maybe even destroy these Neo Cipher fanatics along the way… but that doesn't mean I should just stand by and let things happen… thanks.", Michael expressed his gratitude to his previously unknowingly supportive friend.

"Don't mention it...", answered Seth looking away at the wall beside them as he listened to the boy some more.

"Heh… this reminds me of that day they took Professor Krane four years ago during the last incident… The entire lab was null of any hope but Mom inspired us all to keep going with the completion of the Purify Chamber… Jovi was so young and she cried so much when they took him… I feel like I was acting just like her a moment ago there heh… you're right.", said Michael with a laugh as he dried a small tear leftover under his left eye.

"I could never have imagined from there onward, I'd go on such a journey across Orre… I guess I have Mom and Dad to thank for that…"

"Your father?", Seth questioned out of curiosity.

"Yeah, his work… The Snag Machine, the Purify Chamber… did I ever tell you that I'm fluent in electronic devices and inventions? I tried following in my father's footsteps applying technology for Pokémon interaction and training and such…", mentioned the red headed teen now regaining his confidence and mentality.

"Yes, and your collaborative work with Kaminko and the inventor from Kalos was stolen by the Kalos inventor himself. I remember seeing your interview with Ancha days ago on television. I'm sorry that happened but I think you're forgetting that we're on a mission here.", Seth quickly suggested that they get back on track instead of socializing.

"Oh! Yeah that's right. Sorry about that heh. But thanks. Thanks Seth. I feel a lot better now.", Michael thanked him again.

"Again… don't mention it.", Seth requested before walking towards the next doorway.

Michael approached his sister's Litwick and let it plop itself on to his hands and into his arms. The purple flame on Litwick's wick intimidated his carrier and the body head of the small amorphous Candle Pokémon was very uncomfortable to feel through Michael's black sleeves.

"Oww! How did Jovi carry you so easily earlier? You're too hot, could you put out that light?", Michael said requesting Litwick to tone down it's heat.

After Litwick complied by putting out its own flame, Michael gradually felt comfortable enough to carry his sister's Pokémon throughout the last of what the factory had left to explore. He walked passed Seth who waited for him to go lead the way at the doorway.

He lead the way and looked around the corner, his Reader responded to another invisible entity in his way. In the far end of the corridor there was a Specter Peon looking his way before proceeding to walk up the stairs to the fourth and final level.

The light of the moon shined on the dimly lit metallic platform through the no longer protective diamond casing that divided the factory from the air outside. Shards of broken glass have been left scattered across the rooftop surrounding the giant metal plated pyramid shaped compound in the center. Michael and Seth emerged at the northeastern corner of the roof.

Michael looked up at the isolated fenced pathway built on the compound's building. His Aura Reader began activating again sliding its visor over his left eye to spot the same Cipher Peon stalking them unknowing that he is clearly visible to him. Jovi's Litwick reacted to the Peon's presence with a growl.

"You see someone through that? Didn't you take the Cipher Scope I left you?", asked the magician.

"I took its programming chip and installed it on my Aura Reader. These Specter Peons won't be haunting me anytime soon.", Michael explained keeping his voice down.

"Oh? I didn't know that device could do that.", exclaimed Seth's surprise.

"Neither did I but seeing how it's capable of seeing an invisible Shadowy Aura and how strangely convenient that the programming chip fits the slot in my Aura Reader… well, you know what I did. Put two and two together.", Michael further explained his reasoning for concluding that his Aura Reader would be capable of such a thing.

"Right… interesting.", Seth responded before drawing out his own Cipher Scope.

When the Peon saw the magician drawing his Cipher Scope, he retreated back to the front of the higher part of the pyramid where the Control Machine's lever was located. Michael continued forward with Seth following behind him towards the front gate into Gorigan's office in the foremost region of the pyramid on level with the roof.

When they had arrived, the Specter Peon stood waiting for them from above. He took off his breath silencing mask to blow a whistle with his teeth. The sound reverberated across the inner spaces of the giant diamond the factory was protected by. The Peon then blinked out of sight entirely presumably escaping the scene just as the others before.

"What did he just do?", Michael asked before suddenly a gust of wind behind him blew across the rooftop with the sound of screeching flying Pokémon.

The two stood watching three fossil Pokémon ascend to their airspace from below the factory. Three enraged Aerodactyls rose from the bottom of the diamond with eyes red with rage. Michael immediately noticed the similarity they have between the raging Slaking's eyes from the incident at Gateon Port. They flapped their wings and circled around the two investigators from above. Michael and Seth prepared themselves for another battle along with Jovi's Litwick hyped up for spitting more Flame Burst attacks.

Michael sent out his Rhydon. Seth sent out his Forretress. Litwick jumped out of his carrier's arms and landed on the floor ready for battle.

The Areodactyls swooped in with their first attacks. The first Areodactyl chomped Michael's Rhydon with a Bite attack to its horn. The second Areodactyl unleashed a barrage of falling rocks upon their targets with a Rock Slide attack hitting Rhydon, and Forretress but missing Litwick by a hair. The last Areodactyl used a Hyper Beam attack towards Seth but Forretress took the intense impact of energy instead of its trainer.

Michael and Seth issued their instructions as Litwick made its own choices. Rhydon unleashed a counter attack of multiple Rock Blast attacks downing a single Areodactyl. Forretress used an unknown "Flash Cannon" attack that missed its target. Litwick spat a ball of flames with its Flame Burst attack towards the two remaining Areodactyl and landed a hit. It wasn't very effective however, Litwick's attack did minimal damage but it persisted using its move anyway.

The two Areodactyls attacked again. With wings spread wide, the first Areodactyl swooped in and sweeped the area with a large Wing Attack where Michael and company held their ground. He and Seth ducked with Forretress ducking with them. Litwick was safe for how short he was. Rhydon was caught in its hesitation and was knocked back with another minor blow. The second Areodactyl had to recharge from it's Hyper Beam attack and was forced to skip it's turn.

"Michael! Does your Rhydon know Protect?!", asked the cloaked magician under the heat of battle.

"Uh, yeah! Should he use it?", the red headed protagonist asked in response keeping an eye on the opposing enraged Pokémon.

"Yes! This battle is over!", stated Seth before issuing his next command.

Michael and Seth issued their directions to their Pokémon as Litwick decided on its own again. This time Rhydon shielded itself with a Protect move and Forretress flung itself at the two Areodactyls before it used Explosion. The Areodactyls were blasted out of the sky with a bright and powerful explosion. One fainted joining the earlier downed Areodactyl at the bottom of the diamond. The other fainted with a crash landing on the side of the roof's floor before sliding off of its sloped wall on to another section of the factory with a thud.

Michael and Seth were victorious! There were no trainers to identify and gain prize money but EXP was gained for the two Pokémon involved excluding the fainted Forretress. Litwick grew a few levels and cheered for its newly gained strength boost. Rhydon and Forretress were recalled back to their capsules while Litwick jumped back into Michael's arms careful to keep its wick free of its purple flame for him.

"Wow! Heh, that was fun! I've never had a battle like that before.", Michael expressed how riveting the battle was.

"Three Pokémon versus three Pokémon in a very unorganized and wild composition… there should be a name for such a format.", Seth suggested as he tried to think of a name for it.

"Yeah! Hey that was pretty good! The way you thought of using Forretress to use Explosion just like that. And it being a Normal type move it wouldn't even affect my sister's Litwick. Cool!", Michael complemented the cloaked gray haired young man.

"Oh? Surely that's nothing new to you. You would have thought of it too wouldn't you?", Seth queried with a miniature smirk.

"Yes! Er, maybe? Actually, I won one of my most epic battles in the Orre Colosseum with that Explosion and Protect strategy. My Claydol really did a number on my opponent's team, letting my other Pokémon finish off his last Pokémon and giving me the win.", said Michael.

"Haha oh really? Was it your Rhydon who won you that?", asked Seth again a little intrigued by Michael's story.

"Ah… uh actually, I don't remember which one of my Pokémon it was that won me the last title… Geez how could I forget that?! Gosh I'm trying really hard right now but I just can't seem to put my finger on it…", Michael admitted scratching the back of his head with a smile and blush embarrassed by his own ability to forget details of important events so easily.

"Hmph. Well don't dwell on it. I presume we're at the last doorway to the last room now.", Seth said directing Michael's attention to the black unpowered gate.

"This battle was just a warm up for the true battle inside. We're likely to meet an important Neo Cipher admin inside. Past this gate we're going to have to be prepared for another fight probably far more difficult than this one, but don't worry, I'll be right beside you even though you are probably very capable of handling it yourself.", informed Seth to Michael with his right hand on the black gate.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's move along and keep it strong!", Michael said calling back to Seth's unexpected encouragement speech not too long ago.

Seth smiled back for a moment before he reverted his smile and looked at the door with a slightly troubled tone in his blue eyes. Michael noticed and asked him if something was wrong.

"What? No nothing. I'm just checking with my inner thoughts… the thought of facing an old boss and all…. you know?… er… I mean…"

"I knew it. You are an Ex-Cipher scientist! All of your 'magic tricks' are just exploits of technological advances by Cipher's science and technology divisions aren't they?", assumed Michael about him.

Seth's eyes were widened in a small apparent shock, but he nodded and accepted his accuser's accusation. He appeared to be very accepting.

"I guess nothing gets past you huh? Heheh… let's just get this over with. I'll answer any more questions you have later.", assured the former scientist with his right hand on the metal door.

The gate slowly slid itself open. Seth stood aside and allowed Michael to walk in first. Taking a quick look around his surroundings and holding Jovi's Pokémon in his arms against his chest, he walked forward into the dimly lit office that used to seat the Cipher Admin Gorigan.

Michael's eyes followed the large red dusty carpet imprinted with large repeated pattern of four crescent moons corning a diamond encased sun in the center of the pattern up to Gorigan's desk on top of an elevated square of marble divided from the rest of the no longer reflective marble floor. Of the four lamps that stood in the corners of the elevated marble square only three were functional providing light on an unfamiliar person sitting at Gorigan's desk infront of the giant metallic bordered monitor.

The man himself appeared to be a large muscular man with large dark red flaming hair that stood standing on its head like a bonfire. His face was intimidating with his evil eye glare and red war paint strokes across his cheeks across his eye lids and barely touching each other on the their tales on his chin. He wore a large Poke Ball necklace around his neck over his black skin tight skin enveloping his entire body with large dark red armor plates placed similar in fashion to the standard Peon. Unlike the Peons however, he appeared to sport a belt and a single tribal tasset cloth accompanied by armored tassets around his waist when he stood. Seeing the size of the man when he stood unnerved Michael and frightened him even more when he jumped out from behind Gorigan's desk almost in a similar fashion to how Gorigan did the first time he was approached by the teen.

"Who…Who the heck are you?", Michael asked when he set his eyes upon the muscular man in intimidating dark red armor. Michael felt Seth stand beside him as they both gazed upon the man. Seth seemed a little surprised to see him.

"You aren't my boss…", Seth stated from his observation of the foe.

The man laughed and began introducing himself to the two with a heavy voice.

"Dahaha! I am the great Dakim. I am the one in charge of the Delta Division of the New Cipher. My greetings to both of you.", the intimidating flaming dark haired man introduced himself.

"You… you're Dakim?! A Cipher Admin that caused trouble during the first incident?!", Michael questioned shocked to contemplate the admin's existence in front of him right now.

"Yes. My underlings and comrades were no match for the pest and his Pokémon way back then. Even my Shadow Entei fell captured by his Snag Machine. But soon we will make more Shadow Pokémon with the equipment we salvaged from Gorigan's stronghold. My underlings are already building new bases hidden all over the Orre Region. We will establish a New Cipher for the coming of the New World."

"I don't know what you're talking about this 'New World', but Shadow Pokémon… you won't get away with this! You never will!", Michael said raising one of his Pokémon's Poke Balls ready for battle.

"H-Hey! You're the one? You're the wimp that made a mockery of Master Greevil and his entire army? Gwahahaha! You're so small!", Dakim taunted Michael with an echoing laugh.

"Hey! I'm plenty tough! Tough enough to send you packing to a prison where you belong!", countered Michael verbally.

"Hmph. I don't think so. I see you've brought a friend…. A traitor…", Dakim said to Michael referring to Seth.

Seth stood still and looked at Dakim with a stoic unpleased expression. Dakim's earthy brown eyes stared through Seth's soul but Seth stared back into his with a grudging manner. Dakim began laughing again.

"Were you expecting Ein to be seated here, traitor? We know all about you, Seth. You better believe that you will share the same fate as this pipsqueak right here. And you know how that will go?", asked Dakim appearing to enjoy this confrontation as he grinned menacingly.

Suddenly the lights started to dim. Michael was startled as Seth stood his ground. The lights were completely blacked out for a moment before the three functional lamps began working again. Michael was relieved to have his eyesight back but was not happy to see who appeared after laying his eyes on the enemy again.

Beside Dakim was Nascour standing tall, dark, and menacing with his dark purple muscle tight outfit with his long tattered ragged cloth around his waist and ghostly long strands of silver hair from his head. He smiled the most unnerving smile with his pure red eyes wide open. Dakim stood beside him laughing at Michael's reaction before finishing his statement.

"After your Pokémon fall to our combined attacks. We will bury you both alive with your own Pokémon side by side.", Dakim threatened beginning a chaotic two on two battle.

The battle began with Nascour sending out Blaziken and Xatu on to the field. Dakim sent out Solrock and Houndoom accompanying Blaziken and Xatu.

Michael didn't expect to see this number of Pokemon opposing them all at once. Litwick was too scared to jump out of the comfort and safety of his left arm. Michael called forth his Zapdos and Hitmonchan on to his side of the field. Following him, Seth called out his Tyranitar and a previously unidentifiable foreign Pokémon that goes by the name of Togekiss. Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability invoked a sandstorm on to the field. Seeing the large stronger Pokémon now on their side, Jovi's Litwick jumped out of Michael's arms and joined the battle positioned safely behind the four friendly Pokémon.

Commands were issued by their trainers. Before either side could attack, Seth activated his Neo Evolution gauntlet and forced his Tyranitar to Neo Evolve into its Neo Evolution. Michael basked in how drastically different the familiar giant Tyranitar looked under the effects of Neo Evolution despite appearing to have sustained some sort of self-inflicted damage cutting its health by a fraction of its amount.

Seth's Togekiss opened the battle with a Follow Me attack. Togekiss became the center of attention for the opposing team this turn.

Nascour's Blaziken used Mach Punch on Neo Tyranitar but it was directed at Togekiss, it was not very affective.

Nascour's Xatu used Confuse Ray on Zapdos, but was redirected towards Togekiss. Togekiss was confused.

Dakim's Houndoom used Crunch on Zapdos, but was redirected towards Togekiss. Amazingly, it didn't affect Togekiss at all.

Michael's Zapdos used Thunderbolt on Xatu, forcing an instant KO with its super effective impact and forcing Nascour to recall it and send out a Dusknoir to take its place.

Michael's Hitmonchan used Sky Uppercut on the opposing Houndoom, forcing an instant KO with its supper effective impact forcing Dakim to recall it and replace it with his Swampert.

Seth's Neo Tyranitar charged forward and used Crunch on Solrock, forcing an almost instant KO from the brutal super effective impact if it weren't for the Solrock's Focus Sash barely keeping it from fainting.

Dakim's Solrock used Sunny Day. The sandstorm subsided and was replaced with an incredibly bright shining light at the ceiling of the room.

Litwick used Flame Burst on Solrock, splashing embers on to Blaziken and Swampert with the unintended boost from the miniature sun in the ceiling. Despite causing minimal pathetic amounts of damage to the heavily resistant Pokémon, Solrock fainted with a heavy thud on to the floor. This forced Dakim to recall it to its Poke Ball.

"CRUSH THEM INTO POWDER!" Dakim verbally demanded out of anger as he threw out his Camerupt to replace Solrock.

"We both know how this ends.", Nascour taunted with his menacing grin.

Michael refused to respond verbally to his foes as he focused his concentration on his next turns of attacks with his Zapdos and Hitmonchan dividing him from the enemy's Pokémon. Seth caught his attention however when he called his name.

"Michael! Focus your Pokémon's attacks on their type match ups!"

"Yes I know!", Michael shouted back before decided his Pokémon's next attacks.

All of the Pokémon's trainers made their choices and issued their next commands.

Seth's Togekiss was confused from Xatu's previous Confuse Ray attack and unfortunately hitting itself in its confusion instead of using Follow Me a second time, allowing Nascour and Dakim's Pokemon free reign to carry their punishing moves.

Nascour's Blaziken rushed forward and used Mach Punch to deal cataclysmic damage to Seth's Neo Evolved Dark and Rock type. Neo Tyranitar fell on her back and fainted much to Seth's surprise.

"Type match ups ay?! Gahahaha!", Dakim howled with laughter at Seth's expense.

Nascour smiled an evil smile for this small triumph before he witnessed his Blaziken suddenly Drill Pecked and collapse to Zapdos's counter attack at Michael's command. Nascour and Seth were both forced to recall their fainted Pokémon and replace them.

Seth sent out another previously unidentifiable foreign Pokémon that has been now identified as a Honchcrow standing beside Togekiss with its wings folded taking a sassy stance with its appearance. Nascour sent out another foreign Pokémon now identified as Mismagius floating above the ground with its ominous appearance rivaling his Dusknoir.

Hitmonchan attacked Swampert with a Mega Punch dealing a fantastic amount of damage but it wasn't enough to bring him down. Dakim's Water and Ground type counterattacked with a Hydro Pump towards Hitmonchan dealing enough collateral damage to knock it out. Michael was forced to recall it as his sister's Litwick attacked one of Nascour's Pokemon.

Dusknoir sustained a super effective Hex attack from Litwick shortly before Litwick was punched in the face with a swift Shadow Punch passing the line of defense Litwick hid behind. Litwick cried and hid behind Michael after the super effective Ghost type attack left its mark on the Candle Pokémon's health.

"You're going to regret that... Or I will make you regret it.", Michael eerily threatened giving Nascour an evil look after hearing Jovi's first caught Pokémon cry in fear behind him.

Seth looked as he witnessed Michael throw his Master Ball out to call forth his last resort now used as the leading threat against the Neo Cipher Admins. Occupying a large portion of the field dwarfing every Pokémon on the field of battle, Cipher's former ultimate Shadow Pokémon has arrived.

Dakim looked upon Lugia in awe of its giant majestic form. Nascour stood with his smile gone for a moment before he began laughing maniacally. Michael didn't hesitate to let his Lugia shake the entire factory with an Earthquake attack before anyone could decide on what moves their Pokémon should use the next turn.

Lugia flapped it's giant silver wings and roared forcing the ground beneath every Pokémon susceptible to Ground type attacks to heavy damage. Miraculously, Seth's Pokémon at the time were both part Flying Types, rendering themselves completely immune to the destructive Ground type attack. Zapdos being a Flying Type also avoided damage.

Camerupt, Swampert, and Dusknoir were all caught in the shaking destruction from below. Camerupt fainted from its super effective impact, Dusknoir fainted with the combined damage sustained from Litwick's previous attack, Swampert fainted with the combined damage sustained from Hitmonchan's attack, but Mismagius was left unharmed with its Levitate ability.

Dakim withdrew his last two Pokémon unable to say anything after what he witnessed. Nascour stood unable to contain his laughter after seeing his ally's and his own Pokémon completely decimated by a miraculously effective Earthquake attack.

Just now, trainers were able to issue their commands but Dakim and Nascour did nothing as they could see the writing on the wall. Seth told his Pokémon his selected attacks and Michael told his Zapdos his. Mismagius hovered desperately awaiting her trainer's orders but Nascour refused to provide his Pokémon directions to fight. Despite being at full strength and unharmed, it was left defenseless as an easy target for the two protagonists' Pokémon.

Seth's Honchcrow attacked first with a finishing super effective Night Slash attack. Swift blows from the bird Pokémon's talons and beak crushed Mismagius leaving everyone the memory of a battle that turned one-sided very quickly once Michael decided it to be that way.

Michael and Seth have claimed victory! 5000 Poke Dollars were automatically split between Michael and Seth's bank accounts on their P DAs as prize money from Nascour and Dakim's P DAs. All Pokémon in battle have been returned to their respective Poke Balls. The Sunny Day effect has worn off.

Instead of facing the two post-defeat enemies immediately, Michael turned to see his sister's Pokémon fainted on the red carpet. He picked him up carefully and gave him a Revive from his Medicine Pocket in his waist bag. Michael paid no attention to the six eyes watching him as he took care of his sister's Pokémon in his arms with the spray of a Hyper Potion to help restore Litwick to full health. The small candle resembling Pokémon awoke happy to see the battle was over and he was in the comfort of Michael's arms.

"There there. We'll be home before you know it.", Michael assured him before turning to face the Neo Cipher Admins again.

"Alright. The jig is up. Tell me where you're keeping them.", the red headed teen demanded of Nascour and Dakim standing with small malicious smiles on their faces.

"Who? Might I ask?", Dakim responded with a question and a grin.

"The people you caught in the middle of the desert! Marcia and Cameran! The people from Phenac City! And while I'm at it, what did you do with Kaminko's invention?! I know it was the likes of Cipher that stole his invention!", Michael stated demanding more answers as Seth stood by letting him speak.

"They have been taken to somewhere far away. You'll never find them here in Orre. As for the invention, I'm sure you've already seen an instance of it put to use once haven't you?", Nascour said with grimace on his face.

Michael was furious to hear what he was hearing. The people who regarded him as their local protector have been taken to a place of unknown origin under his watch. Dakim then started to speak.

"Heh, that's right! Venus was there keeping you from s… from watching us blow up the Relic! She fought you side by side with the first prototype of the Remo Trainer! Gahaha!", Dakim laughed in his amusement.

"Venus? … Remo Trainer?...", Michael asked unsure of what they were talking about flashing a glance at Seth to see if he could comprehend what they were saying. He shook his head at him and shrugged under his cape.

"Gahahaha! Everything is falling into place! Cipher and Shadow Pokémon will be revived in the New World. Just as our Master described dreams!", Dakim proudly proclaimed.

"Indeed. The world as you know it will change. Our Master foresaw this. We will take back this region for the betterment of the New Cipher and all of our followers.", Nascour added keeping a smirk on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about. But Shadow Pokémon production is a crime against nature and it won't go unpunished!", Michael verbally threatened imminent imprisonment through national authorities.

"Heh, a crime you say?", questioned Dakim looking at Michael with an ominous smile.

"Let me ask you a question on the matter, in your opinion, which of the two is the worst crime? Creating an army Pokémon with shut hearts built for fighting for the mission of total domination?"

"Or… Sentencing an entire region and its people to their long painful deaths via actions you believed were justified with absolutely no consequences?", Nascour finished Dakim's questions aimed at Michael who is now confused and troubled by what they were implying.

"What?... Grrrgh just tell me where have you kept them?! Where are Marcia and Cameran?! Where are Lovrina and Naps?!", Michael continued his demands ignoring his cryptic

"Lovrina? She has assumed her place as one of Ein's most trained assistants in our new laboratories preparing the third coming of Cipher. She isn't so much an admin so much as an asset to us now... you don't look happy about that.", Nascour observed Michael's expression looking even more perturbed than before.

Michael refused to believe that Lovrina would return to working for Cipher. To think that any of the former Cipher Admins he befriended would return to Cipher filled Michael with frustration and disbelief. He shook his head as he still held on to his sister's Pokémon.

"No… No you're wrong… I saw Lovrina and her brother. They were at Gateon Port and they came here from Poketopia because they were offered… offered….", he stopped when his memory of why they came hit him like a motorcycle. He stuttered with his mind in an eerie epiphany.

"A job? They waited for a job interview didn't they? I wonder if a certain man named 'Agnes' came by and interviewed them for the job shortly after you've left? Geheheh.", Dakim revealed Agnes' involvement in recruiting Lovrina and Naps back into Cipher drawing amusement from the protagonist's suffering.

"No… NO! They're not… they aren't…. Seth!", Michael called out to him who seemed to be in a trance before he turned his attention back to his caller.

"You were there! You saw them! What happened after we took down that Slaking?!"

The former Cipher R&D hesitated in his response before the monitor on the wall over Gorigan's desk suddenly activated. The lights went out and everyone's eyes in the room turned to the screen, delaying Seth's response o Michael. A voice echoed from the static.

"It's been so long, yet, you don't look any different than you have before. You're still the same annoying kid that tore apart my father's dream… and now seeing that you've defeated Nascour and Dakim I cannot begin to describe how… happy I am. Do you remember me?", a familiar voice boomed from the monitor.

"Ardos… so you're the one behind all of this? I should have known. I didn't think you would still hold a grudge after all this time. But why?", Michael asked ending his question when the screen developed to a video feed of the blue haired man smiling with his shades concealing his eyes.

"I'm not here to see your end. We are here to bring about a new age. The New World will soon be upon us. And with the potential hidden underground for another army to protect and conquer, we will live again.", Ardos said with his smiling expression kept the same.

Michael couldn't tell from where Ardos was streaming from. There was no noise in the background and he appeared to be standing in a dark room alone facing the camera with lights on him. Michael listened to more of his spiel.

"Your friends have already betrayed you. Even now they have been reclaimed and refitted for our cause.", Ardos informed before the monitor cut to a montage of the every Cipher Admin Michael befriended at the Orre Colosseum years ago excluding Eldes.

The screen showed Lovrina in a modern science uniform facing away from the camera in an unknown fully equipped laboratory with consoles and monitor displays appearing to be showing some sort of data with animated illustrations of DNA being spliced apart and rebuilt with different proteins. The pink twintailed haired young woman turned her head slightly allowing Michael to see her expression. She didn't look happy to be at work.

The screen changed to show Gorigan with his trusty wrench tightening a bolt on some sort of piped mechanism. He wore a blue worker suit as opposed to his red suit Michael remembered him wearing long ago when he first met him. His black cap and headphones were replaced with a simple hard hat. After briefly struggling with the bolt, he turned to the camera and gave an annoyed angry look before charging at it and throwing it across the room towards a Neo Cipher Peon hitting him on his helmet. He didn't seem very happy to be working either.

And then the screen cut to Snattle, sitting in an a formal office wearing a fancy white dress uniform with shoulder cuffs and a strange shaped badge pinned on his shirt. He sported a purple rolled powder wig on his head. He wore the same concealing sunglasses he did back then and purple lipstick on his lips. He seemed busy writing something. He didn't appear to care if he was working for Neo Cipher or not.

"Your 'friends' have been reclaimed. Everyone you've ever known will disappear and be reclaimed for the cause.", Ardos said once the screen cut to him.

Michael was beside himself with anger; so much so that he accidentally provoked his sister's Litwick to turn up its heat when he started squeezing him to hard in his arms. He released him after feeling the sudden burst of heat in his arms and apologized. When he turned his attention to Nascour and Dakim after he released Litwick, he realized too late that they had disappeared when he and Seth were busy watching the screen.

"Hey! They left!", Michael exclaimed catching Seth's attention again.

"Oh? Oh… that's unfortunate.", Seth said scratching the back of his head wondering how they could have easily let them slip under their noses.

"Gone… You are too late to fix your mistakes child. No matter what you could have done, everyone would have disappeared in the end…", the blue haired mastermind said to him with his smile gone.

"What the heck are you talking about?! Where are you keeping everyone?! At Citadark Isle?!", Michael shouted at Ardos on the screen.

"You think we were the ones gradually taking away Orre's People throughout the years? You think we were the reason the Wild Pokémon refused to stay? You think we're the cause of this region dying with its connections with the outside world now nonexistent?! Poor deluded child…", Ardos spoke shaking his head before the screen started fading into static again but not before one last message was spoken with a sudden otherworldly tone that echoed into Michael's consciousness.

"It was all… your… fault."

The three functioning lamps were relit again. The admins were gone and Gorigan's office was left with only Michael, Seth, and Jovi's Litwick now sitting on the floor looking up at his troubled carrier. The red headed teen had his hands on his temples as he endured those last words ringing in his ears like the words were being forced into his mind.

Seth stepped over to Michael's side watching him look down at the floor with a disturbed look on his face. Michael let go of his temples and looked at his hands as he appeared to be having a really hard time contemplating the words that now haunted him beyond his logic and reasoning for why. He turned to Seth with a disturbed confused look on his face.

"What did he mean?... What did Ardos mean by that?! What… I… I would never hurt… Orre is my home... what did he ...", he mumbled trying to think back to what possible action could he have done that made Orre the nearly nonexistent region it is today.

"It's not your fault. Nothing you have done or could have done matters anymore today. What is in the past is done, for now let's go home.", Seth insisted before Michael suddenly snapped at him with the question he couldn't answer earlier.

"What happened at the Krabby Club?! You didn't answer me back there! Why did Lovrina join Cipher again?!", Michael demanded answers once again forcing Seth to admit what he saw with a regretful tone and expression.

Seth sighed and recalled what he was going to say. He began telling him what he could remember what happened that night. Michael listened intently withholding his judgement of whether or not Lovrina and the others are guilty of betraying his trust.

"She… She and her brother were seated at their table when the man, Agnes, arrived through the front doors. Taking what happened with the Slaking, I eavesdropped on Agnes with his conversation with the two… he offered them a job as ecological scientists in their 'Orre Restoration Committee'. The girl signed a contract and Agnes bid them both a goodnight before walking off out of the building with the paper in his hands… ", finished Seth seeing the unsatisfied expression on Michael's face.

"… Is that it?", the red headed teen queried one last time.

"They stayed at the table talking about their new found jobs wondering if they're going to receive better pay with this new employer. They talked about where they wondered the work sight would be and such… but they didn't sound like they knew they were being press ganged back into Cipher.", Seth said closing his explanation.

Michael took a moment to ponder about what he said. The possibility that maybe his unusual friends from the Cipher were tricked into unwillingly be a part of Neo Cipher existed. They may have accepted on the terms of their job applications hoping for some sort of improvement to their life. Then Michael remembered what Lovrina told him at the Krabby Club. He remembered Lovrina saying there has been an assortment of Orre immigrants desperately trying to survive in regions like Kanto and Hoenn but not being treated fairly for whatever reason. Michael couldn't remember if there was a reason or if Lovrina even told her the reason, but realizing that something he did long ago set the stage for everyone to force themselves to live unwillingly in poverty and desperation. The entirety of Orre's citizens was forced to be exiled into hostile lands presumably because of what Michael has done according to Ardos.

"But…. What did I do?... How could I have known?...", Michael muttered to himself again trying to piece together and remember the significant actions of his past and their long term effects.

Seth raised his thick heavy gauntlet mounted left arm to place his hand on Michael's right shoulder in another attempt to comfort him and keep his mind clear of reoccurring doubt. Michael took his eyes off the carpet in front of his feet to look at his sister's Pokémon looking back at him looking concerned and curious as to why he seemed so gloomy. Michael shook his head trying not to think of the many people who may have been indirectly wronged by his actions. He knew he had to keep strong and move along to put a closure to Orre's story with by purifying the imminent shadows when they come and finishing off Cipher one last time.

After a brief moment of reassurance from Seth and apologies from Michael for snapping at him a moment ago, the two agreed tomorrow they will make an effort to hunt for Evice as his alter ego Agnes wherever in Orre he may be.

At the same time as he promised earlier, he explained to Michael his "Magic Tricks" with a majority of them revolving around pieces of technology from Cipher's unapproved branch of technological advances. Some tricks relied on some sort of unstable prototype displacement portal device. It was the same device he used to summon Litwick out of a top hat for Jovi to catch as her first Pokémon that fateful night at Gateon Port. He also explained how he was able to create elemental energy balls and be able to use telekinesis both being inventions hidden in his suit rendering the user capable of using certain Pokémon moves. None of Seth's exploited technology was approved by Cipher during their time as they found them too costly to produce while Shadow Pokémon were deemed more efficient and destructive for their attention in terms of spending.

Although Michael could still feel his anxiety dwelling in him with the thoughts of himself being a partial reason why everything is wrong in Orre, he was able to appreciate Seth's consideration as he reassured him along the way back to the desert through the foul smelling metallic habitat Cipher once occupied. He listened to his words of encouragement that were reminiscent of the words told to him earlier when he suffered his panic attack, but it still held meaning to him none the less. By the time they had escaped the canyon back on to the desert; Michael could find it in his heart to see this magician now revealed to be a former scientist of Cipher is a new ally with him to help him with his last sendoff mission for Orre's future and for the safety of the world all together.


	8. Episode 5

In the ONBS building, hours after Michael left for the Cipher Key Lair into the night, Jovi was laying back on the couch on the first floor lounge after having met the strange salesman Agnes outside much to Michael's disapproval. The young novice trainer didn't want to trouble her brother any more than she did when she read her brother's last message on her blue P*DA telling her to please stay safe.

The blue haired sister lay watching another rerun of a different anime from Lucy Fleetfoot's adventures in Pokémon Trozei on the TV monitor opposite of where the couch faced. Underneath the table between her and the TV was Mimi her Minun and Pluplu her Plusle sleeping together snuggled up against each other. At the foot of the couch, Michael's Umbreon lay sleeping with its glowing yellow rings slowly blinking its light after every third breath it took.

Jovi watched the screen as she held her tired eyes open. The show was entering a commercial break with a bonus question directed at Pokémon trainers as custom for this show during the protagonist's adventure in Hoenn. She listened and observed…

"Trainers, which of these Pokémon evolves into Seviper?!", the obnoxious voice of the protagonist echoed.

On the screen there was a large illustration of a Seviper with three other Pokémon presented as choices for the viewers to ponder over the commercial break. Jovi squinted her eyes at the screen as she was unable to see any of the three Pokémon provided able to even evolve into Seviper. Then she realized Seviper doesn't even have a prior evolution according to her older brother. Confused, she waited through the commercials to see what the answer was.

"Okay trainers, if you chose Arbok, you were right!", the voice of the protagonist answered as Jovi lay silent unsure of the information she was being fed.

"…I don't think that's right…"

Jovi looked with disbelief at how hilariously wrong the answer was. Of the three Pokémon provided, Arbok was the only one that remotely resembled Seviper yet that was plenty enough reason for the producers to assume Arbok was the correct choice.

"I can't believe Bonnie likes this show… well, I guess I could believe it but man this is just inexcusable.", she said with a laugh.

The blue haired girl yawned as she continued to watch the rest of the episode before it ended and cut to an imported commercial break for portable educational Teachy TV sets aimed at young novice Kanto trainers for learning about how to train one's own Pokémon according to the "Poke Dude". Jovi paid no attention to most of the irrelevant imported commercials as all of their advertised products are not available in Orre. She waited for the next show to begin before she slowly began closing her tired eyes and fall asleep.

Her mind was half awake when she heard the metal door slide open to the room. Jovi lifted her eyelids open a little as she was facing the door from where she laid. A familiar figure walked into the lounge holding a familiar candle resembling Pokémon in his left machine-mounted-gloved hand.

"Hey Sis! Guess who we found?", Michael asked happy to see his sister suddenly rise up with excitement and happiness to see her Pokémon again.

She rushed over to Michael standing a few feet forward from the doorway as he held her Litwick. The little Pokémon sat it's slightly amorphous body in in the palm of Michael's Snag Machine watching his trainer jump with joy to see him. Litwick gave a little smile and a wave before suddenly being picked up and held by its trainer.

"LITWICK! Oh I'm so glad you're safe! I was so worried! I didn't think we'd see you again for a couple days but Michael found you didn't he? I promise I won't let you run off after some spook again.", said Jovi hugging the candlestick Pokémon in her arms.

Litwick endured the hug before deciding it had enough with its near suffocation. He let out a cry and turned up its blue flame. Jovi quickly let go of her Pokémon and apologized for her moment of carelessness. Litwick looked up at her with puffed up cheeks."

"Sorry! I guess I got carried away there. Hee hee. Well, there's a alot of food to eat over there! Mimi and Pluplu are under the table sleeping over there with Umbreon beside them. Make yourself comfy!", she welcomed Litwick to the cozy lounge of sleeping Pokémon.

The Litwick bounced its way to the food dispenser and began devouring as many pellets as he could. Jovi took a moment to appreciate her team of three now reunited again as her returned Pokémon gorged itself on snacks. She faced her brother again and flashed him a big smile before proceeding to embrace him tightly with arms over his shoulders.

"Thank you so much big brother! I can't thank you enough for finding Litwick for me!", Jovi expressed her appreciation as she hugged cheek to cheek with her older brother for a moment.

The red headed teen couldn't help but smile as he gave a quick hug back before she released him. Michael stood back and saw his sister was eager to hear the story he brought back from Cipher's old factory. She stood and asked him, "So? What happened big bro?"

"Heh, well first thing's first. May I ask what happened when I was gone and why you had to go outside with how dark it is out there? And to see Agnes of all people most likely to be an old criminal mastermind for Cipher which I can confirm he is?", Michael asked delaying his story to tell his sister.

Jovi's smile reverted and turned into a guilty wince. She stood with her hands folded behind her back as she looked down at the floor trying to think of what to say. The blue dressed girl then began to speak with her blue eyes meeting with his green eyes as she spoke the truth.

"Well… after an episode of 'Pokémon Trozei' ended, I got bored waiting in here. I walked out with your Umbreon returned to his ball and Mimi and Pluplu riding my shoulders. I walked past Megg at the counter but I couldn't leave before she asked where I was going. I told her that I was just going to go out and explore the town a little so she let me but told me not to wander past the shop nearby. So I walked out but then she followed me out saying that she'll be my guide and give me a tour around the town.", she continued explaining as Michael listened.

"The first thing she showed me the Duel Square where trainers used to battle against each other, although it looks a lot more like a circle in my opinion with the two faded painted circles circling the entire area.", she said with Michael nodding in agreement with a small smirk of amusement at her observation.

"She showed me the shop and the Pyrite Grand Hotel where we smelled Duking's gumbo dinner out the window of his house. Then she showed me the windmill there the town still gets its power. And she told me about the guy who apparently said been spinning gears there for thirty nine years apparently?"

Michael shrugged in response as he wasn't sure if he really did work that long either. Jovi continued…

"Then she guided me across that scary metal bridge across the abyss to the Colosseum and showed me inside for a moment. But then she had a message from Bitt on her P*DA and she left me with the trainers at the Colosseum who were just standing around with their Pokémon out. I made friends with them and I had a conversation with them before I left. Then I walked back across the bridge and saw Agnes pushing his lottery machine around the corner.", she explained finally getting to the part that concerned Michael so much.

"I knew that we assumed about him being Evice, but he really didn't seem like a bad guy when I saw him standing there. The guard wasn't at his post when he came by though, I don't know where he went…."

"Just tell me what 'Agnes' said to you. What happened and why was he here?", Michael requested of his sister.

Jovi proceeded upon his request. Michael paid extra attention to what he was about to hear.

"I went right up to him and asked if he was Evice."

Suddenly the loud slapping sound of the palm of Michael's right hand making an impact with his forehead boomed briefly in the room. Jovi stood looking at her brother who seemed to be reacting with disapproval to her decision.

"Whaat?", she asked in her defense with her fists on her hips.

"You… went up to a man who we now know used to be a master criminal who lead Cipher in Orre during the first crisis and straight up asked him if he was an evil tyrant just like that? Just… like that?", the older brother questioned with disbelief.

Jovi looked sheepishly on the floor with her cheeks red with embarrassment.

"…. Well when you put it that way, big bro, it does sound reckless and stupid. But he took it quite well actually! Agnes just laughed and answered with a question asking if I was some secret agent trying to bust him for a crime he didn't commit. I said no, so he said no too. So then he offered if I wanted to try my luck at his lottery-slot-machine-thing as I seemed to be the only other person he's seen since he arrived when night fell. I wanted to ask him more questions but he offered me the chance for free so I went and pulled the lever as he handed me a ticket and explained to me how to play the game."

She proceeded to tell Michael how she was given three tickets with three images printed on each one. Some of the images were duplicates of each other. The images were reminiscent of the pictures on slot machines the Realgam Tower would have in their gambling section near their Battle Bingo Corner. Icons depicting a Cipher-Themed Seven, Snagem-Themed Jackpot, Premier Ball, Ultra Ball, Great Ball, and Poke Ball-Cheri were the possible outcomes on the slot machine. The each three tickets had a random assortment of three random icons from the machine. The game is not to match up three in a row on the slots, but to match a sequence of three specific icons as shown on the tickets. The more tickets bought, the more likely you'll match up icons and win a prize. Rarity varies on the different kinds of icons that matched, but if you get three of a particular icon in a row on the machine but don't have a ticket depicting that combination, you don't get any prize.

"That sounds like a ploy to buy more of those tickets. Disgusting….", Michael reacted seeing through Agnes's scheme.

"But he gave me three for free and I got a prize! Look!", Jovi urged her brother to see her prize.

In her hand was a small smoothed amber stone. Small particles are trapped within the hardened sap. It's beautiful to look when it's held up against a light. Even Michael would admit it looked beautiful. Jovi smiled when she saw how her red headed brother was amazed by her gem.

"Huh. Well a free prize is a free prize… how much does each ticket cost?", the older brother asked out of curiosity.

"500 Poke Dollars for each ticket. He gave me three for free because it was my first time.", the blue haired sister answered as Michael did the math in his head.

"So by that logic, for 1500 Poke Dollars you got this amber gem that just looks pretty…", he stated.

"Yeah? So?", she asked back.

"Just imagine spending for more tickets only to get that prize."

"Well, there are a lot of different prizes. If you could see those capsules over the machine you'd see there are lots of different prizes of different rarities with the different combinations you'd find. I think the rarer combinations like the triple seven tickets cost 1000 Poke Dollars? I think, yeah. Pretty expensive risk heh...", she confessed as she scratched the back of her head seeing downside of gambling with Agnes's machine.

"Agnes was very nice though… I mean even he even let Mimi and Pluplu jump around on his machine and hop around its capsules. He even answered some of my questions. Did you know that Woot Candy is from an old brand in Poketopia? And that in Hoenn there's a such thing as treat for Pokémon called Pokeblocks?"

"That's partially interesting, but that doesn't matter right now. Agnes is a criminal and Seth and I know he's Evice. He is the man who almost prepared Orre as Cipher's staging ground for world domination. Right now he visits places that are being targeted by Neo Cipher and leave his minions to take people away after he's left. Knowing he's been here now, I need to report to Nett and prepare for anything that could happen between now and tomorrow.", Michael explained before walking back to the doorway.

"And seeing how Megg isn't at her front desk now and the guard is gone, we may or may not have a situation in our hands. I'll be back in a moment . If anything happens, Umbreon will protect you and your other Pokémon."

"They aren't back? Megg and Shroomish aren't back? What about Bitt? Do you think Agnes really ordered Neo Cipher's guys after them? Oh…", Jovi asked realizing how close to danger she might be right now despite her previous perception of Agnes as a good guy despite the suspicion of her brother.

"On second thought, mind if you could come with me Jovi?", Michael suggested his quick change in mind after considering what could go wrong.

"Not at all big brother-yawwn… excuse me.", excused the little sister after suddenly feeling to weight of her exhaustion from today's adventure.

"Let's go everybody. Return to your balls."

Jovi returned Mimi, Pluplu, Litwick, and the sleeping Umbreon to their Poke Balls before proceeding to follow her brother out the lounge. The two siblings proceeded to ride the elevator to the second floor and ride the second elevator to the third floor. There they could hear the janitor sounding like he's cleaning a locker in his quarters from the open door down the hall they need not enter to get to Nett's office.

They stepped back on to the lit roof and entered Nett's external compound with its satellite dish sitting still in a single direction. Nett was approached in his desk by the two siblings as Secc was busy in his chair facing the transcript from the audio. The audio has been deciphered further on the monitor mounted the wall. It now reads, "We have reached an agreement with…. Requesting permission to retrieve individuals for…. Protocol…. Will rendezvous at the Key Lair for more briefings…."

"Oh Michael! You're back! How was it at the factory? Is Neo Cipher there?", asked Nett as they approached.

"Neo Cipher was there, but they already salvaged the entire factory of its Shadow Pokémon processing machines. Seth helped me fight with Dakim and Nascour at Gorigan's office but they escaped when Ardos showed up on Gorigan's screen on the wall. But while I was gone, Agnes was here and met with my sister while nobody was guarding outside.", the red headed teen explained initially surprising Nett with the information.

"Interesting… Yes, I know Evice was here. Jovi told me. I've already assigned trainers from the Colosseum to positions around the town. For some reason the guard in front of the building isn't there. Megg messaged me saying everything is clear at the moment. Evice hasn't been sighted and the town is safe for now."

"Megg? But where is she now? Do you know?", asked the red headed protagonist concerning the missing sister.

Nett looked at him with a slightly concerned and confused expression. His eyebrows turned inward as a natural fear for the safety of his own sister showed.

"Isn't... she at the reception desk?", the ONBS director questioned with a troubled tone before Michael answered again.

"Not even her Shroomish is there… did she say she was there at her station?"

"Yes… yet she isn't there now…. Well, maybe she's just off at Duking's getting something to eat or… where and when was the last time we saw her? Jovi?", The director then questioned Jovi.

"She got a message from Bitt and she had to go find him at the town gateway? So I was left in the Colosseum and she went but I never saw her come back… and then I met Agnes in the street in front of the building…"

"My sister… has been captured… Bitt must also be captured too…", said Nett with his fears now realized.

In that moment, Secc stood up with a sympathetic expression and walked over to Nett's desk. Nett ignored him and turned to Michael interrogated him once again.

"You haven't found the captives yet have you? Marcia, Cameron, Trest and the others?"

"No.", Michael replied.

"Then you went to the Key Lair for nothing… We could have evacuated to Gateon Port by now but you had us wait here the entire time…"

"You know that we can't let Cipher take this land. You know what would happen if Cipher began bringing back the Shadow Pokémon plan again."

"I didn't imply that we'd leave! We're surrounded out here! If we let our guard down once they'll swoop in and abduct us one by one!", stated Nett based on this observation.

"Oh… yeah you're right… I suppose that also goes for everyone still here in Orre. Eagun might be having trouble keeping Agate Village in order and the HQ Lab is also defenseless… If we group everyone to a single place like Gateon Port it might strengthen our defense against a covert attack.", suggested the red haired teen.

"Yes. We need to get everyone together. We can't broadcast a message to everyone left in this land to head for Gateon Port as a safe haven. Neo Cipher will know and probably be at Gateon Port before we get there."

"Wait, wouldn't it be safer at Agate Village?", Jovi suggested before Nett quickly answered.

"Agate isn't where we can call for a mercenary ship to take us to a different region at any time. The others can go, but I'm not leaving without my sister. Until we get her and all the others back and Cipher is gone, we need to fortify everything we have and keep ourselves safe from Neo Cipher's covert force. And keep an eye out for Evice."

"Alright… that sounds like a plan.", agreed Michael with the experienced teen's plan.

"Does anyone have a picture of Evice? We need to secretly inform everyone what he might look like as Agnes. I know he's probably a fat old man but you never know…"

"I have a picture! I took a group picture of us in front of his lottery slot machine! Look!", Jovi said pulling out her blue P*DA and accessing her images on the unfolded device.

She proceeded to show her a picture of herself holding the P*DA facing herself closer to the camera than anything else in the picture. She was standing in front of the lottery slot machine that had Mimi and Pluplu standing on top of its structure around the prize capsules. Standing beside the machine was the rotund bald man in a formal brown suit and a pretty red bow tie. Agnes sported a smile on his mustached face as he held his right hands up making a peace sign. He doesn't seem very threatening despite the fact he does resemble the megalomaniac from the first crisis.

"Unbelievable! He looks like Es Cade as he did when he was Phenac City's mayor. Would you kindly send me that picture so that I can send it to Eagun and the others on my contact list?", Nett requested her cooperation.

Jovi complied with his request and sent the image to him. Nett cropped the image to focus on Agnes and put his image on a warning message prepared to be sent to Eagun, Professor Krane, Lily, and Dr. Kaminko. The message was sent and the people left in Orre have now been warned of the man believed to be Evice leading a platoon of stealthy peons.

"Everything is set now. And soon we'll need to secure Gateon Port before we can tell people to start packing in case we're really gathering there. But thinking about it, that shouldn't be the only reason we need to make a move towards Gateon Port.", Nett suggested another reason.

"What do you mean by that? What other reason do we… oh, right... Citadark Isle.", said Michael remembering Cipher has their old stronghold there too.

"It's very possible Ardos might be waiting there where his father overlooked all of Cipher's operations. Maybe they even have their prisoners locked up there somewhere, but the Robo Kyogre isn't in the port at the moment. We have to get to Dr. Kaminko's manor and haul the mech there if I'm ever going to reach the island. No ship can reach the island if they've reactivated everything there."

"I'll send a message to Kaminko soon. But for now we have to defend this town and keep everything in check until morning. I'll keep what's left of our guards on patrol, but we'll need someone dependable watching over them too so that they don't get captured either.", Nett requested Michael's cooperation in guarding the town.

"Alright, I'm on it then.", the red headed hero complied.

"All night? Won't you get tired big bro?", asked Jovi a little concerned for how much he's done today already.

"I'm already tired, but don't worry little sis. I'll check everything in the town before I settle at the hotel. But before I even want to do that, I need something to eat right now.", admitted Michael patting his stomach after feeling the pain of not having eaten anything. He forgot to eat even before he left Pyrite Town for the Shadow Pokémon factory.

"Heh Duking will fix you right up with his gumbo soup. Go stop at his place near the hotel. He's probably got soup ready for you two.", Secc recommended with a smile.

From there, Michael and Jovi agreed with one last reminder from Nett to stay alert. They left the building with the warning and kept their eyes and ears peeled as they ventured into the lit street of Pyrite Town passing by a male Chaser Mercenary from the Colosseum standing against the wall in Duel Square.

The town was now being guarded by that one Chaser in the square named Labet, a Rider named Dert standing at the bridge over the abyss, a female Chaser named Ostix standing near the lamp post in the center of town near the Shop, and a buff sailor named Monar keeping watch at Sherles's emptied jailhouse. Most of these trainers recognize Jovi from her visit to the Colosseum earlier and gave a small wave back when Jovi waved at them with her friendly smile.

The smell of meat broth and sliced vegetables filled their nostrils as they approached the metal sliding door into Duking's house. Upon opening the orange door for the orange box shaped rusty house, the scent of a delicious meal immediately grew stronger.

In the room that has changed drastically over the years from what once consisted of a simple desk and multiple bookshelves for the former mayor-like figure of Pyrite Town. The space where his desk once stood is now a dining area with a table and several chairs beside a wall decorated with a few paintings of desert scenery in Orre during the day and night. In the opposite corner, Duking stood in his little but efficient kitchen. A big pot of steaming hot gumbo was being prepared by the burly man in a black t-shirt, brown pants, and a red apron.

"Oh? I see you're back, Michael. I guess there was no such luck finding Marcia tonight was there?", Duking correctly assumed as he could see the look of defeat on Michael's face.

"No sir. I'm sorry... But we believe she and the others might be held at Citadark Isle. Tomorrow I'll try to reach Citadark Isle but we'll need to haul Robo Kyogre from Kaminko's Manor. I promise I'll find her and bring them back.", Michael assured seeing the mustached burly man give a diplomatic expression of empathy.

"Aye…. Well lad. I can't say I'm happy to hear Marcia isn't home yet. But I understand what you're going through. If I had the chance I'd go find her myself, but I don't think I could do it alone. Even with the Pokémon I've had for so long… including the Pokémon you traded me as a matter of fact.", Duking said before he continued.

"But while we're here we might as well keep ourselves strong for them while they're gone. That being said, in recognition of what happened today, I made this here gumbo special for all the hotel goers tonight. I assume you two will be renting a room, so I'll be happy to serve you both first."

Michael and Jovi took a moment to thank him before proceeding to grab a plate of rice and be served the delicious ladles of sliced potato, minced meat, diced carrots, onions and celery with pepper sauce and hot spicy meat broth imported from Kanto. They sat down at the table and began shoveling the flavorful food by the spoonful into their mouths.

"Num…. oh wowee that's so good!", Jovi cheered with a smile before consuming another spoonful.

"I'm glad you like it.", Duking said in response as he hung his red apron on a wooden rack on the wall in the kitchen corner of the room.

"This is awesome. How often do you make this?", asked Michael with genuine curiosity.

"I've made this dish at least once a month since the older days. My wife taught me how to cook when Marcia was just a wee little lass. She was no bigger than this table.", the mustached man said pointing at the height of the dinner table.

" Was that before the first Shadow Pokémon incident?", questioned Michael.

"Of course it was. When we first settled in Pyrite, the miners and the company that invested in the town left. I was already given the authority over the Colosseum so we had to settle here in this small house. But we lived and we claimed the town to be our home. We were well respected in the community thanks to my authority. The crooks kept away and the kids of the town became friends with my Marcia. They used to have their clubhouse past that door over there.", Duking explained pointing towards the door where a sliding bookshelf used to be.

"Past that door in a secret cavern was where the Kids Grid was founded and eventually became ONBS years after Cipher's first defeat at the hands of two heroes… and my dear Plusle.", Duking said referencing the family Pokémon that used to exist in his possession.

"You had a Plusle? Aww what happened to it? ", Jovi asked reminded of her own Plusle as she consumed more of the gumbo on her plate.

"She joined their crusade against Cipher and helped them achieve victory in the end they did. It was a long story but when she was rescued from Miror B in the inner chambers of the surface mines, she wanted to join Wes's quest and she did. Marcia and I let her go to help fight the good fight against Cipher. And in the end they won.", Duking explained to the blue haired sister.

"Plusle left with Wes and Rui to go see the world. We've seen photos of her with her new friend's years ago, but it's been so long. They never sent us back anymore pictures… I'd say it worries me but I'm not as worried over her as I am over Marcia right now… I hope they're both alright."

"I'll find her. I don't know about your Plusle with those two, but I'll make sure Marcia will come back safe and sound.", assured Michael again.

Duking nodded in recognition of Michael's persistent effort to clarify that he's on the case. Despite it, the burly man wasn't gaining anymore positivity in his mood. He remained indifferent as he sat at in his seat at the end of the table.

"It's a darn shame Wes can't be here to help you. He would make a great friend to have right now…", the burly mustached man lamented the absence of a great ally.

"Yeah… say, how was Wes? I know I already asked you and a couple others before, but I can't help but feel curious over him. Being that one shady guy from Team Snagem that saved the world in the end and all, he's really weird."

"You've never bothered to make contact with him before? ", questioned Duking.

"No… well, I have once or twice but none of my messages ever seem to reach them. Everyone who had his P*DA number years back received his messaged but it never occurred to me that I could register his number before it was too late.", the red headed teen gave his explanation for his minimal contact with the mysterious hero.

"When it was too late? When they sent the solar eclipse picture?" questioned Duking again.

"No, when my 'friends' came over from Kanto and Hoenn to compete in the Colosseums with me. I was distracted from my attempts at talking with Wes. And then the whole ordeal with Bill's patent on the PC Boxes. And the time I almost lost all of my… well, you know. You remember that don't you?"

"Right…", Duking responded recalling an event that severed the relation between Michael and his 'friends' from the two League Regions.

"Yeah… well, that's what made me so bitter for a while. I couldn't think about anything and the thought of contacting Wes on my own slipped from my mind as I helped people around the region with their tasks and requests.", Michael further explained.

"I see… still sorry that happened to you lad. But to answer your question, as I remember him,… Wes was always to himself I believe. He was always stoic and firm in his stance. When he spoke, he'd only speak using as few words as possible. The young man was always to the point with everything…"

"… Huh.", the red headed teen expressed his interest in this mythical hero.

"His travelling companion who he rescued however, Rui, she was always cheery and supportive of Wes. She was his polar opposite in every way but somehow those two found each other and stayed together. Her ability to see the Shadow Pokémon might have been the only reason Wes let her come with him in the first place when he rescued her in Phenac City, but even after Wes saved them all and destroyed Cipher, they still kept together like a couple.", described Duking as he faced Michael and Jovi paying undivided attention towards him.

"When I first saw Wes, I would have suspected him of something with that machine on his arm. It was all over the news, the mobile Snag Machine stolen by the man that blew up Team Snagem's Hideout. We later learned it was an ex-Snagem member who blew it up and escaped with the Snag Machine. Wes never told anyone why he left with the Snag Machine, but after it was all over he assured everyone with his girlfriend that he had only the best intentions when he left Snagem. He wanted to save the Pokémon. Ho-oh gave him his blessing at Realgam Tower after he destroyed Evice's escape helicopter. Everyone from Phenac to Pyrite to the Mt. Battle settlements and even the Under knew his story. He truly was Orre's hero and Champion of the Colosseum."

"Ho-oh…", Michael recalled recollecting an important detail about the mysterious trainer.

"So when did Rui leave with him? What was the last thing they did?", Jovi questioned as her interest in the relationship between the ex-criminal and the girl with a mysterious power peaked.

"Well, the last thing we know he did before leaving Orre was that he climbed Mt. Battle and took on the 100 Battle Special challenge. And when he came down after battling either Infin or his twin brother, Inity based on the battle format he chose, it became apparent that Ho-oh flew down from the heavens and joined by his side once he got his victory at the top.", Duking revealed the conditions that lead Wes to becoming Ho-oh's trainer.

"He has a Ho-oh? Ho-oh just swooped right in and joined his party?", asked the red headed teen a little surprised by how differently he had to obtain an epic legendary Pokémon of the world.

"Some say he rode on Ho-oh's back and flew down the mountain in his victory. That boy became Orre's most powerful and influential trainer before he left to see the world with Rui and all of the Pokémon he saved… truth be told, I think he came out a different person after everything he went through with Rui having traveled with him during his journey… what an ending to chapter in Orre's history. Shame to see that history is coming to an end soon…", said Duking regretting the declining life in Orre.

"Wait, Wes has a Ho-oh, and Michael has a Lugia? Aren't both of those Pokémon seen as guardians in Johto?", asked Jovi noticing a peculiar connection between her older brother and the old hero.

"How should I know? I've never been to Johto. But if that were the case, that's a really funny coincidence.", Duking expressed his thoughts on the matter.

Michael fell silent as he was envisioned himself facing off against or with Wes and his Ho-oh in the Orre Colosseum. The red headed trainer smiled as he could imagine the worthy adversary. Not only would he want to challenge this person he's heard so much about ever since his adventure during the second crisis, but he always hoped that he could be friends with Orre's old hero and the girl who was his companion. Maybe they would make better friends than certain other foreign folk.

"Well, that's pretty much it. He came, he destroyed Cipher, and he left with Rui, my Plusle, his legendary Pokémon, and the Shadow Pokémon he purified in Agate Village's sacred forest. That concludes my story time for tonight. I'll be manning the counter at the Pyrite Super Grand Hotel. Check in if you'd like to stay for the night. Don't worry about the dishes.", advised the burly mustached man before walking out his front door leaving the two behind.

Still at the table, Jovi looked at Michael who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. The blue haired girl thought about a question she thought she might have brought up to Michael's attention once. She remembers it now.

"Say big bro?", Jovi requested her attention as she laid back on her chair looking at him.

"Hmhm?", Michael responded bringing himself back out of his fantasy of meeting a potentially awesome friend.

"Do you think that even the worst person can be a nice guy?", Jovi asked the genuine question derived.

"Huh? Didn't you already ask me that question?... and are you referring to Evice as Agnes by asking me that?", asked Michael back with one eye brow raised with slight concern.

"Well big brother, you yourself should know. You're friends with Lovrina and the other old admins aren't you?", Jovi responded pointing out his friendship with unusual allies.

"In case I haven't told you yet lil sis, for your information, they've returned to Cipher. They're all part of Neo Cipher now…", Michael revealed the insight he found at the Cipher Key Lair.

"What?! Oh… I'm sorry Michael… but you don't hate them for it do you?", Jovi questioned again as she was unsure how tolerant her brother is.

"What? No! No no no I don't hate them… Even if they're going back to making more Shadow Pokémon…. Making inhumane experiments on the heart of a Pokémon to create fighting machines and all… er….", the red headed teen answered as he was unsure of his own logic but was interrupted by his curious sister.

"You could forgive them for that. You forgave them once. And they changed. They became your friends and changed their ways. Maybe they don't really want to be part of Cipher again?"

Michael did contemplate this reasonable theory once. Perhaps they were forced to be part of Cipher again. They didn't seem really happy to be part of their old syndicate anyway, excluding Snattle who seemed content in his apparent position for power.

"You might be right…", the red headed teen admitted, looking at his sister who had more to say to him with a small smile on her face.

"Nobody is ever a bad guy. They can be bad guys if they choose to but they can be good guys too if they really want to. That's what I think anyway. Don't you?", she asked.

Before Michael answered, Jovi interrupted again.

"Maybe it won't be that easy though. Some people might need some help having a change of heart. Sorta like how you helped change the hearts of all those Shadow Pokémon. Opening their hearts by bonding with them and purifying them back into normal friendly Pokémon… Maybe it can work the same way with people?"

"…Oh. I guess I see what you mean… but something like that should be the last thing anyone should think of in my position. I mean, I wouldn't just outright think about befriending the guy threatening world domination right? That wouldn't be the first thing to come to anyone's mind."

"But would they be forgiven? Could they be forgiven for what they've already done?", asked Jovi again concerning Michael even more.

"What the heck are these questions? If you're suggesting that I'm selective on who I forgive, let me just put this on the record right now. I don't hate anyone. I get disappointed when they do wrong things, like Red and the others did when they came here for example. I'm disappointed in them and I'm still disappointed in them. I don't care about seeing them at all after seeing how much they really cared to own up to their mistakes. I'm disappointed in Lovrina and the others for going back to Cipher but at least I can find it in my heart to forgive them knowing they probably would have gone a different route after what we've been through. This my final answer. There is goodness in everyone if they are willing to show it, but if they're stuck up megalomaniacs with powerful Pokémon thinking they're above law, common sense, and reasoning then they're garbage that needs to be taken out and rinsed with a brutal high pressure blast of water from a Blastoise's Hydro Cannon… Heh, alright?", Michael wanted to confirm that he was getting his point across.

Jovi giggled at the thought of taking a random garbage bag out into an alley to be blasted by a powerful stream of water for no reason. She nodded with a smile as she understood where Michael stood in how he deals with forgiveness and how he sees anyone capable of being a good person. Her question was finally answered.

"Heehee, thank you big brother! I know you probably got annoyed by that question, but it really helps me think from your perspective. Nobody has to be a bad guy if they try, but that shouldn't stop us from doing the right thing first to keep bad guys from ruining everyone's day. Then maybe after it's all over they'll turn a new leaf if they want to. Or maybe we could convince them… do you think Evice could change?",

"Do you think Nascour could change?", countered Michael immediately reminding Jovi of the ominous encounter with Cipher's old chief executive in the desert lab.

"Oh… huhm…. Heh, you're right. Who knows how they think. But it doesn't mean we have to hate them do we?"

"Hate is a strong word. The only thing I have against Cipher now and then was how they treated the Pokémon they stole. Turning innocent Pokémon into fighting machines in the worst possible way? Inexcusable. Despite this however, I did actually have fun snagging all of their Shadow Pokémon. I won't hold it against anyone for at least making it fun for me. Even if they threatened to blow me up along with the rest of the facility I was on. Heh…", explained Michael with vivid memories of Gorigan and Master Greevil threatening to end his journey with a bang.

"Now that is something I don't understand. How could you forgive someone for wanting to put your life in danger like that? And not forgive those guys from Kanto and Hoenn?", queried Jovi again before she picked herself up off of her chair.

"I never said I didn't forgive 'those guys'. I'm still disappointed in them and I want nothing to do with them. To be honest, it never really stuck on to me that my life was in danger. I always had my Pokémon to protect me on my journey. I never felt like I was really in any danger unless I were to lose a battle against them. My memory is fuzzy on what happened when I'd lose back then, but I always found myself back at the nearest Healing Station ready to try again."

"But you were still able to forgive them? The guys who threatened you?", Jovi questioned once more as she observed her brother getting up from his seat too ready to leave the house.

"They changed. After it was all over, they changed and I found it in my heart to forgive them. And then we became friends like nothing happened. I still have the plaque for Gorigan's 'Hexagonal Bolt of Friendship' title sitting around somewhere in my workshop. Along with the other titles the other admins gave me as a token of our new friendships.", replied the protagonist as he stood by the side of the door.

"Don't forget Chobin and Gonzap's titles.", Jovi reminded Michael.

"Haha! That's right! 'Defeater of Chobin' and 'Honorary Team Snagem Member'… that and Ardos's title, which wasn't at all a token of friendship towards me. Which it still shows as he is the leader of Neo Cipher. Seth and I discovered this in the factory not too long ago."

"He's behind all of this? Huh… I guess he couldn't forgive you for what you did either huh?", Jovi assumed.

Michael wasn't sure however. As he remembered from the event that happened in the Cipher Key Lair, Ardos still held a grudge towards him for destroying Cipher. But remembering the conversation that happened between him, Nascour, and Dakim in Gorigan's office, it is implied that Orre's hero is not only guilty of destroying an old man's dream. The red headed teen remembered how Ardos accused him for how Orre met its fate long ago. Curious if perhaps Ardos also held a grudge towards him for the crime of questionable origin.

"It was… your fault…", Michael whispered to himself with an uncertain feeling that returned to him from the factory.

"Huh?", Jovi reacted to her brother's odd murmur.

"Huh? Oh! Er, nothing. Ardos still has it out for me. I don't blame him.", he admitted with a smirk.

"Haha big brother! They don't scare you at all do they?", the blue sister stated with a chuckle.

Before he could answer truthfully, suddenly both of their P*DAs rang. The siblings opened their P*DAs in unison. Their messages were both from Lily at the HQ Lab. She asks if they'll be home tonight. She's worried about their safety for being away from home this time of night and wonders if it's really alright for Jovi not to be in bed at home this time of night. Michael sent back a message to their concerned mother assuring everything is fine and that they'll be staying at a Hotel in Pyrite Town.

"Do you think Mom and the others are safe too big bro? I hope they're alright.", Jovi said sounding a little worried for the family in the HQ Lab

"They know where they can hide if someone suspicious is approaching. The underground workshop should be well hidden enough… they should know to lock the door and keep the lights out when it's unnecessary.", Michael stated as he too worried for those left behind back home.

"Well, we'll see about moving everyone to a safer place tomorrow. For now though, let's go check in at the hotel. Duking's probably waiting for us there.", he suggested leading the party of two to the door.

Jovi followed, leaving her dish at the table with her brother's. Normally she and Michael would put their dirty dishes in the kitchen, but Duking told them not to worry. The sibling's left Duking's residence with their appetites appeased and more knowledge of the old hero of Orre.

After walking three yards away from Duking's orange house on the same side of the street at night, the siblings walked up to the hotel's entrance and walked through the opened automatic door. There standing behind the reception desk of an old but tidy hotel in its foyer was Duking in his normal attire but wearing his famous gray fedora with a single plastic leaf through its left broadside.

"Hello! And welcome to the Pyrite Super Grand Hotel! Now under new management for a good two years!", proudly declared Duking the Pyrite Hotel Manager.

"When you sleep in one of our rooms, not only do ya regain your own strength by the end of the night but so does your Pokémon! We still don't have a children's rate but that doesn't even matter because tonight all rooms are free until tomorrow night. How may I help you?", Duking asked with friendly smile as the old owner of the hotel would.

"I'd like to rent a room for two please. Two beds.", Michael requested as he stood in front of the desk that had an open guest journal, an ink pen, and an old fashioned oil lamp sitting on the corner of the surface.

"Alright, please sign your names here and take this room key.", replied Duking pointing at the open journal facing Michael and handed him a Room Key for Room 2. The key is actually a sensor for the automatic door's electric lock.

After writing their names on the journal, they ventured past one of two doors into a circular hallway that leads back into the foyer room. Passing by one room on their way they met with Room 2 and entered a cozy little den of two beds for two travelers. A window was left closed on the wall and a radiator sat in the corner. The beds were well made and looked comfortable to sleep in. In the other corner of the room were a couple fluffy Pokémon beds for small Pokémon to sleep on. Mounted on the far right wall was a miniature television set.

The light switch on the wall was flipped on by the red headed teen as soon as they walked in and the younger sister plopped herself on to a bed she claimed for her own.

"This is awesome! This room is so nice and this bed is so comfy!", Jovi cheered as she bounced a little in her temporary bed.

"Haha I'm glad you like it. I hope you don't mind waiting here until I get back little sis. I'll leave you with the key if you need it.", stated Michael ready to leave the room to resume his duty.

"You're leaving? Can I go with you?", Jovi asked even though she was already sure of the answer knowing how protective her brother is.

"You don't need to worry Jovi. I'm just going to check and make sure everything in the town is in order. The Colosseum trainers will probably be guarding in shifts through the night. I'll just need to check with them and with Nett one last time before I think about turning in for the night. So see ya later.", Michael waved to her at the door.

He tossed the key towards Jovi on her bed. She caught it before she looked back at her brother and waved back at him just he disappeared behind the door. The blue haired girl then looked at television already contemplating what channel she'll watch while her brother's gone before the sound of knocking on the door echoed through the room.

"Also, don't worry about giving back Umbreon for now. Keep him here for now. I'll be back in a moment. Alright little sis?", asked Michael after Jovi answered the door again.

"Alrighty big bro! I'll just lay back here and watch some more TV I guess. I might get sleepy though so goodnight Michael!", said Jovi.

After Michael left with another "See ya!", Jovi laid back on her bed with Mimi and Pluplu snuggling beside her on the pillow under her head. Litwick stood in the corner watching the window. Michael's Umbreon lay resting on the Pokémon Pillow keeping one of his red eyes open looking down at the floor.

"… Yawn… might as well see what's on TV now I guess… or I could just go to sleep right now…", Jovi thought before she made her decision.

Meanwhile Michael walked toward one of the trainers standing in the street. Chaser, Ostix was still there yawning and leaning against the lamp post with one of her Pokémon out of its ball, a Smeargle. The long-tailed-bandana wearing mercenary stood watch over Monar's position near the gateway to the town as Michael approached.

"So how many of us are going to stay up all night? And how the heck are we supposed to know if Cipher is coming if they've got invisible Peons running under our noses?", asked Ostix looking past Michael to see the next line of defense idling near Duel Square.

"I sorta figured everyone was going to take shifts or something. What Nett tell you guys?", Michael asked back taking notice of the Smeargle attempting to paint a picture with its tail on the street cement.

"He told us to stay out here and stand guard. He also told us to do whatever you told us to do if you say anything otherwise.", answered the mercenary.

"Oh? Oh okay. So I guess I'm in charge of this. Alright, well first thing's first, let's group up and talk this over with everyone.", Michael issued his first order with his newly realized position of power.

After everyone came together at the lamp post, Michael explained the plan he had off the top of his head. The Colosseum trainers listened to the teen who had trouble speaking to large crowds as he had a minor case of stage fright as he usually gets when confronting groups consisting of four or more people. Michael focused and spoke his mind.

"Alright, well there are six of us here. I'm going to have a look around the town so at the very minimum three of us are going to have to stay up for now. After I come back everyone can go back to their homes if they want to. My Aura Reader can see the Specter Peons so if I go on a ghost hunting hunt right now and come back with nothing I think we'll be alright for tonight. Otherwise, we're gonna have a battle in our hands."

"Awhright.", Sailor Monar answered.

"Which one of us will stay out and who will stay in?", Rider Dert asked.

"Smeargle is already making a still-life out here. I think I'll stay.", Ostix declared.

The Colosseum Trainers settled among themselves which two of their ranks will sit it out and who will stay out and keep watch while Michael scouts the town's surroundings. After the debate, the trainers assembled to their positions and the red headed teen was ready to start his patrol.

With his Aura Reader at the ready he made his way on his hover cycle across the sandy dunes surrounding the town. Keeping a constant cruising speed, he traversed around the crevice that split Pyrite Town from its Colosseum. The desert night was silent and dark. The empty desert showed no signs of life and the shadows of time lost long ago stayed sprawled across the dead land at night. Tumbleweeds would occasionally catch Michael's attention for a moment before he'd immediately dismiss them as false alarms.

"There is nothing here… Nothing…", Michael expressed to himself reminiscing a landscape he is all too familiar with.

The crag around the town was inspected. The cliff sides and edges around the town were scanned. Michael looked down on the town to see the dimly lit ancient settlement still had its guarding mercenaries in the streets. Knowing the town was safe at the moment, he continued his inspection of the wide spaces around Pyrite.

At the Pyrite Super Grand Hotel, Jovi was waking up to a sound of electricity crackling. The sound of air conditioners in the hotel suddenly stopped working. She looked around to see her Plusle and Minun were sleeping in the corner with Michael's Umbreon. Litwick jumped up and down with its flame teeming more than usual as it cried out in agitation.

"Huh? What's happening? Is there a power outage?", asked Jovi before she tried to turn on the lights. The lights wouldn't turn on, and the air conditioner ceased to keep the room cool.

"Agh it's so hot in here. Litwick could you keep your light down please?", Jovi requested of her agitated Candle Pokémon.

Litwick settled down its fire in response to his trainer's request. Pluplu, Mimi, and Umbreon slowly awoke and immediately felt a strange disturbance in the air. They watched Jovi approach the door and attempt to open it with the button panel on the wall.

"It's locked?… No. It's just not powered... I don't think there's a door outlet in here to charge… and I'm still getting so hot in here. I need to get out."

Jovi looked around the room. There was nothing but a single window on the wall wide enough for the blue novice trainer to escape through. She opened the window and looked outside. The light from the town's neon signs and lamps weren't there. The town was dark and without power.

Jovi debated whether or not she should stay in the room and be cooked or go out there and risk the possible dangers that Michael would throw a fit over if he found out. But thinking back to Michael's own adventure having begun with unexpected kidnappings, Jovi figured maybe this would be the start to her own little adventure so long as she keeps herself safe. She has her Pokémon and her brother's strong Umbreon so she's well prepared for a battle against a malevolent foe.

"Alright you guys! Return!"

All Pokémon in the room were returned to their balls. Jovi's party consisiting of Pluplu, Mimi, Litwick, and Umbreon was kept in her backpack slung around her back. She proceeded out of the window careful not to fall on her back when she exited the building. She then fell on her back shortly after trying to heed her own advice.

"Ow… well that was a rough start.", she said picking herself up and dusting off her blue over shirt.

"Let's see what's going on here… hope Michael won't mind."

The blue haired girl began her investigation by sneaking by the discarded iron drums on the side of the street near Duel Suare. She couldn't see any of the Colosseum trainers in the street as she knew there should be someone taking watch. The little light that illuminated the town from the moon above the clouds allowed Jovi to get her bearings as she walked through the dark seemingly empty settlement.

"This is the windmill! Maybe something's wrong in here?"

Jovi stepped forward into the darkened source of power. It was too dark to see anything. She sent out her Litwick to provide some light. The trainer and her Pokémon were able to see the assortment of cogs occupying a large portion of the room. The control panels were unmanned. Of everything that was wrong in the scene, the most blatant thing that peaked Jovi's interest was the large gap in the mesh of gears. Nothing was moving therefore nothing was powered.

"A gear is missing… did someone take it?"

There were no clues left in the scene. Only a faded arrow on the ground that gave directions to the man who spun the gears for thirty-nine years on where he should be at all times of the day. With nothing left of interest in the power generator now out of commission, Jovi turned and faced the door she came in from.

Jovi and her Litwick peered out of the building and looked across Duel Square. There were still no signs of life. She stepped forward away from the windmill's metallic doorway. There was still no signs of life as far as she could see.

"Maybe those Specter Peons are out there… do you see anything Litwick?", she asked her Pokemon.

Litwick shook its head responding in the negative. The town really was empty and dark. Jovi held her Litwick in her arms as she ventured forward toward the ONBS building.

"What happened to the bridge?"

She discovered the bridge to the Colosseum disappeared. The rusty bridge posts were left on both sides of the dark abyss. She looked down at the darkness into the earth before turning away as soon as she felt the anxiety of falling into unexplored nothingness.

"Eh…. Where's Michael? … Maybe I should message him what's happening right now."

She set down her Litwick and reached for the strap of her backpack on her shoulder before she realized she forgot to bring her backpack. She looked back in the direction of the hotel in the darkness. She couldn't see anything standing between her and the hotel.

Deciding to go back for it, she made her way back to the side of the building where her window was, but the window was closed and locked from the inside. She stood flabbergasted by this strange revelation. She doesn't remember ever closing the window on her way out.

"Hm… maybe Duking has another key for the room… I probably should have checked with him first."

She walked to the front door of the hotel. The window desk was closed and the door would not open. Still holding on to her Litwick, the blue novice trainer approached Duking's house expecting to be able to enter. But the automatic door was also locked.

"What is going on here? …. Is Cipher behind this?", she asked herself wondering if this is how Phenac City turned into a ghost town.

Thinking over her options, she concluded the best course of action would be to meet the ONBS Team to ask them what is going on. She turned toward the ONBS building and started walking across Duel Square before she made it to front doors with white tiles decorating the ground. The door opened, allowing her passage into the first floor.

"Megg? … I guess you haven't come back yet…"

As Jovi walked around Megg's reception desk, Litwick suddenly began sounding out in agitation. He jumped out of her arms and began blasting something in the dark with a Flame Burst attack.

"Woah?! Huh?!", the novice trainer reacted before seeing a Pokémon reveal itself in the dark.

"Gayaya…", a Gastly revealed itself shaking off the flame on its gaseous body.

The battle began with the Gastly already insured from Litwick's first strike.

Jovi issued her commands.

The Wild Gastly floated with a smile.

Litwick used a Hex attack in accordance to his trainer's command.

The Gas Pokémon sustained the attack and fled with a panicking shriek.

Jovi and her Pokémon achieved a quick victory!

Experience was awarded to Litwick and the way forward to the first elevator was cleared.

"That was a Gastly? What was that Pokémon doing here?"

The hallway remained silent as no one answered back. Litwick looked up at its trainer awaiting her next course of action. Jovi took a moment to reflect on her options before decided to press forward. The doors along the way were impassible, but the elevator was still functional for some reason.

Upon rising to the second floor, the sound of keys jiggling in a room nearby immediately unnerved Jovi and kept her heart beating rapidly. Litwick could hear it too and he wasn't too happy to hear it.

"W-Where is that coming from? …. And why is this floor empty too?"

She stepped toward the next elevator. She couldn't get very far before the sharp sound of jingling keys started getting erratic as it seemed to be travelling across the halls. The sound kept reverberating and echoing before the source of the noise finally revealed itself. It ambushed them with a strange smile and a set of clanging keys in its possession.

"AH?! Ah-uh a Pokemon?!", Jovi exclaimed before feeling something touch her shoulder.

Before she could scream from the sudden contact, she dropped Litwick and swiftly ran to the safety of the corner of the hallway beside the elevator she came from. In her loud expression of fear she realized it was a Haunter that snuck up on her before it began tormenting Litwick. Joining the Haunter was the mischievous key-ring-resembling Pokémon that danced in the air. Litwick covered his face with its little stubby hands and cried

"H-Hey! Leave him alone!", she shouted before sending out Michael's Umbreon and her Plusle to oppose the two mischievous Pokémon.

The battle began with Litwick crying behind Haunter and the unidentifiable Pokémon.

Jovi did not bring Seth's device or her P*DA to identify the foreign Pokémon.

Umbreon and Plusle stood ready.

Jovi took a moment to think over her directions and gave her orders to her Pokémon.

The battle opened with the unidentifiable key ring resembling Pokemon rushing forward to use Thunder Wave on Umbreon.

Umbreon was Paralyzed, but its ability Synchronize paralyzed it's attacker as well.

Umbreon couldn't move, it stood guard passing its turn.

Plusle rushed forward with a Spark Attack towards the key ring resembling Pokémon, the attack wasn't very effective however. The opposing Pokémon barely took a scratch from the attack.

Haunter used a Lick attack on Plusle.

Plusle was grossed out, sustaining moderate damage.

"What type of Pokemon is that?! We need to get that down somehow!", the novice trainer exclaimed.

Another set of directions were given for the next turn for Umbreon and Plusle.

The key ring resembling Pokémon tried attacking first, but it was too paralyzed to move.

Plusle used Spark again but toward Haunter this time. The opposing Pokémon suffered moderate damage.

The Haunter shot a Mean Look attack on Plusle, forcing Plusle to stay in the battle.

Umbreon was still unable to move, passing its turn.

"Urrrgh I wish I brought my bag with me. I could cure Umbreon and this would be over right now.", Jovi regretted her past decision.

Directions were given once again for Jovi's Pokémon.

Plusle jumped forward and used Spark on the opposing Haunter once again.

Critical hit! Haunter stopped laughing and fled.

As soon as Haunter fled, the key-ring Pokemon's smile turned upside down, but it's paralyses prevented it from fleeing.

Litwick stopped crying after Haunter disappeared and faced forward towards the worried key ring Pokémon and immediately blasted it with its Flame Burst attack.

The attack was super effective! The key ring Pokémon shrieked and fainted on the spot.

Umbreon was still paralyzed, but it didn't matter at this point.

Jovi and her team achieved Victory!

EXP was awarded to all of Jovi's Pokémon except Umbreon who was already at its maximum potential.

Pluplu the Plusle and Umbreon were returned to their balls while Litwick was kept out to continue providing the light for the journey up the ONBS building.

Jovi stood over the fainted key ring Pokémon and took a closer look at it. It was an exotic Pokémon never before seen in Orre. She crouched down to look at it and squinted her eyes seeing how oddly shaped the key thieving Pokémon was.

"…It's literally a key ring? …. Well there are such things as Voltorbs and Magnemite. I guess stranger Pokémon could exist."

The Pokemon suddenly awoke and gave a frown before zipping out of sight, crashing through a window in the southern wall of the building.

Litwick and Jovi stood there a little shaken by how quickly the key jiggling Pokémon escaped.

"… Wish I could have caught it… it looked so cute.", Jovi admitted with a laugh.

"Ah well. Let's keep going. Hm Litwick?", she said calling to her Pokémon before he jumped back into her arms.

Before she proceeded up the elevator, she explored where the key ring resembling Pokémon came from. The only room unlocked in the floor was the room beside the shooting studio, a locker room.

Within the locker room there sat a single purple item chest hiding in the far corner of the room beside a set of lockers. She popped it open and discovered a Rare Candy sitting inside. Beside the expensive item find however, there was nothing left on the floor to discover or investigate as most of it was inaccessible.

"Rare Candies are nice. I wonder if Woot Candies are related to them somehow…", Jovi thought as she approached the elevator to the third floor.

Upon exiting on to the third floor of the once presumed empty ONBS building, Jovi looked to her right to see a functional Healing Station beside a dysfunctional PC near the set of stairs to the roof top. The light of the electricity constantly arcing in the glass tube below the Poke Ball sockets kept the floor slightly illuminated, allowing Jovi visibility of the halls toward various rooms and shooting studios.

"Let's heal up. Return to your ball Litwick.", she said before returning her Litwick in her arms and placing its ball and the Poke Balls of her other party Pokémon in the sockets of the Healing Machine.

After a quick surge of light enveloped the capsules and a familiar comforting tune played from the machine, Jovi's party was fully healed and ready for another battle.

"All ready. Now let's see what's happening over here before we go up there…"

The girl investigated the doors in the hall. None of them seemed to work. There was no gain from investigating the locked doors whatsoever. Not even a roaming random Pokémon was on this floor unlike the past two floors. It would be pretty boring here if it weren't for the sound Jovi was hearing from the roof. It sounded like a woman mumbling to herself.

"I-Is someone there?", Jovi almost called as she retracted herself from possibly letting a Cipher agent get the drop on her.

When she came to the stairs, the clouds split apart to reveal the crescent moon. The large visible fragment of Earth's natural satellite allowed Jovi to see roof she stood upon. There was no breeze and the occasional moment of silence would be broken by the voice of a woman appearing to be in conversation with herself. Jovi turned to see who was standing in front of Nett's small compound building under the looming satellite dish antenna.

"Interesting… in this world, Pokémon can exist in a human habitat, but we don't know how the people would react to these changes… how are we supposed to know how well these ecological changes will affect the region if these dream sequences can only give me so much?... humans have to adapt to being with Pokémon... well scrap that thought. I think I have the data I need now. To unlock this land's potential to live again, it needs a serious make over… there are many factors in this equation I believe… ", mumbled the mysterious entity standing by the railing.

Jovi stepped forward towards the figure and was able to see the details of her outfit.

It was a woman fit with a strange complicated bodysuit covering her up to her neck. Her black suit had an assembly of colorful stripes decorating her appearance. Orange stripes ran down the front of her abdomen to her knees and lined her arms to the back of her waist. A blue stripe was aligned around her neck as a collar leading to a circular smooth metallic piece dividing the blue collar stripe to the green stripe running past the sides of her torso connecting and converging with the orange stripes originating from a strange square shaped device attached to her back. She had cut fluffy white hair but she doesn't appear to be a woman of old age. She sported a pair of high tech yellow visorscope goggles over her eyes that appeared to have a crosshairs on both of the visor glasses for some sort of targeting system. The mysterious woman turned her head toward Jovi's way and jumped to her surprise.

"AH! Huh?! Oh! Oh what are you? Are you a Pokémon too? Perhaps you're a Ditto?", asked the strange high tech suited woman.

"W-What? Me a Pokémon? Who are you?", Jovi asked back with concern and confusion as she looked into the yellow visorscope over the woman's eyes.

"You aren't a Pokémon? I had thought the Interdream Zone was exclusive to keeping Pokémon in dreams. But lately it seems I've been wrong in my assumptions… Curious….", stated the strange woman.

"This then supports this strange occurrence that's been happening. Lately I thought I've been seeing this anomaly shaped like a human running about in certain places. Places like in the water city in the East and the forest in the West. For a second I thought these dream investigations were being haunted by a spirit, but maybe it's just you? I won't hold it against you though. Don't worry about it.", she continued with an unexpectedly laid back tone and a grin.

"What are you even talking about? Who are you?!", Jovi demanded an answer from the confusing lady.

"Hm? No need to be aggressive there hah. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner. I am doctor from the Unova Region though everyone calls me Professor…. uh… Sorry! I can't tell you.", the professor interrupted herself to keep her name a secret.

Jovi stood with her eyebrows tilted inwards seeing the strange woman laugh as she scratched the back of her head of white hair in embarrassment.

"In fact I really can't tell you what I'm doing here. It's top secret. Sorry!", the mysterious lady apologized.

"Are you part of Cipher?", Jovi asked the visorscoped lady who immediately gave her a curious unknown expression.

"Cipher? I don't think so. And even if I was I wouldn't tell a kid like you what I'm doing here…", said the bodysuit wearing lady.

"You're not part of Cipher? Then what are you doing here? And do you know what happened to everyone here? Where is Nett and the others? Did Cipher take everyone? What is going on here?", Jovi unleashed a barrage of questions almost equivalent in the manner her brother would question his suspects.

"A lot of questions! A lot I can't really understand or even answer right now. I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything…. Or… maybe… no…", she answered before she turned away to mumble with herself.

"No… I shouldn't talk…. But there's no way she's real is she?", the lady said quietly to herself as she faced the Orre desert in the horizon.

Jovi tried to eavesdrop on the white haired lady's conversation with herself.

"Could it hurt to just….. I haven't had anyone to talk to for so long…. Maybe just a little… chat?", she mumbled a little more before she turned to see Jovi quickly refrain herself from leaning forward in her eavesdropping stance in a blush of shame.

"I am an explorer, and inventor, professor and a doctor! But you will know me as the Dream Professor. Alright?", she finally confessed with a smile and a raise of her visorscope. Jovi paid attention to her as she spoke.

"I find Pokémon in this dreamed up version of Orre, I record the data on where their habitats are, and I return to present that data to my boss so long as someone is in the lab to help me wake up. It's a fun job but it's not without a few risky side effects…. Nothing life risking though I mean, heh.", assured the professor with a nod.

"A dream?... Does this mean this is all a dream?", Jovi asked as she realized the reality she appears to be in makes about as much sense as this strange lady.

"Hm? Are you sleeping right now? Or rather, were you sleeping before?", the professor questioned back.

"Heh… I think I am… or I was… No I still am.", Jovi admitted with a nervous smile thinking back to the moment she chose to sleep instead of watching TV in the hotel. This would explain how strange it is for her to have this entire experience in this emptied darkened Pyrite Town. She knew not to let her mind wander as she knows her lucid dreams can often turn into nightmares if she lets it on accident.

"W-Wait! Hold on a minute before you pinch yourself. Who are you? You don't look like anyone I've ever seen before. I don't think any anomaly such as you could possibly be a result of an Interdream Zone conjuring. Care to explain? Maybe?", she asked with a sincere smile to the nervous blue haired girl who was already ready to pinch herself with her right hand over the skin of her left bicep.

"Oh… urh… well if you insist…", said Jovi thinking that if this is a dream it wouldn't make any difference for her to get familiar with an admittedly complicated figment of her imagination.

"My name is Jovi. I'm eleven years old and I live in Orre's forest to the West in an HQ Lab with my family. My older brother's name is Michael and he's our hero. Not to sound like someone who looks up to her brother a lot, but he's really done a lot for Orre."

The Dream Professor looked intrigued by this exposition to a heroic youth she has never heard of. Jovi continued as she listened.

"He saved Orre and the entire world once when the Cipher syndicate tried to rule the world with their Shadow Pokémon plan. He saved everyone and all the Pokémon Cipher captured and would-be captured.", she explained with a growing smile, proud of her brother's accomplishments.

"How intriguing! Looks like this region is has it's heroes and history doesn't it? I've never heard of your brother. He must love Pokémon very much doesn't he?", asked the professor intrigued by all of this.

"Oh yeah! He loves Pokémon. He bonded with Cipher's Shadow Pokemon to save them from being Shadow Pokémon forever. It's horrible what Cipher did, but it's even worse to think of what would happen if my big brother didn't stop them in time… and ever since then, he's kept Orre safe and helped so many people with their troubles. But now everyone's gone and a new Cipher is back trying to take control of Orre again... but I know my brother can stop them.", Jovi expressed her belief in her brother with a grin and a nod.

"What's a Shadow Pokémon? Is that anything like a dream Pokémon? Or possibly a 'nightmarish' kind of dream Pokémon given the prefix, 'Shadow'?", the lady asked with genuine curiosity.

"Oh, Shadow Pokémon are Pokémon that have their hearts virtually locked shut by Cipher's scientist. I don't know how they do it, but in doing it they turn innocent Pokémon into fighting machines unable to feel happy or even remember a time when they were happy. They're dangerous, but they're also very sad. This is why we need to stop Neo Cipher in the real world before they try to do something like that again.", Jovi further explained.

"Huh…. And when did this happen? Cipher trying to take over the world?", asked the professor with more genuine curiosity as she's never heard of this crisis before now.

"It actually happened twice! Once nine years ago that was stopped by Wes and his friend Rui, and the last time four years ago that was stopped by my big brother…", Jovi answered seeing the curious expression on the professor's face.

"How strange! We've never heard of such incidents in Unova. We had no idea we all so close to disaster back then… funny. Team Plasma, a problem we had in Unova, also tried to take over the world twice. And they were both stopped by a couple heroic young people both times! Also, who did you say stopped the first crisis?", asked the professor once more.

"Wes! His name was Wes, and his friend Rui who had the power to see Shadow Pokémon. Shadow Pokémon look just like regular Pokémon but they have an invisible shadowy aura to them. And she was able to see it and help Wes find them all to save them.", Jovi answered once more seeing the expression on the professor's face change.

The professor was silent as she turned toward the darkened scenic view of Pyrite Town in a moonlit night. She appeared troubled by something in response to Jovi's revelation. The dream explorer mumbled to herself.

"… How very… interesting…..", she muttered to herself with a slightly phased tone.

"Huh?", Jovi reacted standing by her side trying to look at her face.

"Oh nothing. I know there's a good reason for everything that's going on here… In all honesty I shouldn't be here having this conversation with you… but if you want I could talk a little bit about my research. Want to hear it?", the professor asked eager to share talk about her career she has a passion for.

Jovi looked at her surroundings for a moment. Seeing as the barely visible moon has been in the same position in the sky past the clouds she only now realized kept still the entire time she was awake, she decided to let this dream of hers continue as morning doesn't seem to be getting any closer.

"Sure!", she said not knowing to what extent of information she'll be expected to intake from the strange lady.

"Awesome! Okay okay so… you know how dreams are just so weird and wonderful? Dreams aren't an exact science you know?", she began explaining happily.

"As far as I know from what my old college friend Fennel once told me, Pokémon go into a dream world in their dreams to meet with other dreaming Pokémon. Dreaming Pokémon are also likely find Pokémon that don't exist yet based on observations on digital image replications constructed by the dreamer's mind. Sometimes these Pokémon that never existed or were acknowledged to exist in the first place get stuck in the Interdream Zone, and blah blah blah blah.", the Professor went on in her educational lecture forcing the blue haired girl to try not to sleep in this dream as she stood trying to understand.

"Blah blah blah people blah blah blah but if a human dreams blah blah blah bah past and the future could blah blah blah blah perception in different standpoints blah blah blah Pokemon blah blah blah blah...", she continued far exceeding Jovi's mental capacity to recognize anything she's saying.

"So yeah! Us being here together in the same dream is a really rare occurrence. I'd say something like this ever happening again is less likely than getting struck by lightning fifty times in a row! We probably won't see each other again once one of us wakes up… or at least not in a long time... Heh whatcha think about all that?", asked the professor seeing the mind boggled expression on Jovi's face

"… I… uh.", replied Jovi at a loss for words.

"It's funny how dreams bring people together… curious however why I've never heard of the Orre Region. Its history is very intriguing and the people all have such unique names… I wonder…"

Silence loomed as Jovi didn't have anything to say to the professor. Everything the lady said was either moderately comprehendible or completely insane touching upon concepts of reality, virtual reality, and dreamed reality the blue novice trainer couldn't even fathom. She looked up at her calm yellow eyes and friendly curious expression. For a figment of her imagination the professor sure seems to love her job.

"Well, thank you so much for listening to me!", the professor thanked Jovi with a sincere grin.

"Oh? No problem!", Jovi replied happy to see the lady was pleased with her audience of one.

I've learned so much more about dreams since I was found and repurposed. I haven't had anyone listen to me like this for a long time… Heh, well thanks again!", the professor expressed her gratitude one last time.

Jovi nodded with a smile. The professor stood pleased with herself before she looked toward the sealed cave opening. Beside the ONBS building was the mineshaft into the Earth's crust that has long been sealed since the burial of the Under and the ONBS team establishing themselves in Pyrite Town. What was supposed to be sealed with a wall has now been unsealed for some reason. Jovi looked in the direction the professor stared to see this.

"It seems my job in this town isn't done yet.", the professor admitted triggering Jovi to ask her with great curiosity.

"Your job? Who are you working for anyway?"

"Don't go asking me that again. You know that I can't tell you.", the mysterious dream explorer said before walking towards the unsealed entrance to the mines.

"But can't I at least know your name?", Jovi asked feeling a little cheated to have had to sit through a long lesson about nonsense and not even knowing the teacher's name.

"Sorry Jovi. But I think we'll get to see each other real soon… then maybe I'll tell you. Or maybe I won't even need to haha! See ya on the other side!", the explorer bid adieu with a wave as she wielded some sort of two-handed potent device attached to the pack on the back of her suit through a cable.

As Jovi saw her wave goodbye, she slowly waved back before the sound of Nett's automatic door opened and startled her into waking up in the reality she was familiar with.

"Woah!... It really was just a dream…. Huh…", she exclaimed seeing as she was in the hotel room on her bed facing the old metallic ceiling. The morning sun was shining through the closed window on to her face.

She sat up from her bed as she held the edge of her sheets. The blue haired girl could see Mimi and Pluplu in the corner sleeping in the corner on the pillow Umbreon was last seen sleeping on. Litwick sat beside the pillow appearing to be sleeping with its flame out. Jovi then turned to see her brother sleeping soundly on his back as he faced the ceiling.

The Moonlight Pokémon was curled up beside his long time trainer over his sheets; resting happily with his trainer. Michael lay in his slumber with his usually bunched up spiky red hair freed. His bed head was a mess but he looked very comfortable in his sleep even with his Umbreon's head on his stomach. The red headed teenager had his blue headband and yellow vest sitting next to his Snag Machine and Aura Reader on the cabinet beside his bed. He was sleeping in his heat resistant compressed black shirt and his usual blue pants.

Everything was peaceful within the little hotel room. The entire crew, except for Jovi, was in a slumber. Seeing everything so calm gradually made her feel less like she did in her dream and more like sleeping to dream a better dream again. She slowly sunk back into her covers and laid her head back on her pillow.

"… What was all of that? … the windmill was missing a gear and Pokémon were in the building... and that strange woman…", she thought to herself all of the dream's mysteries as she tried to go back to sleep.

When she turned, she realized something was in her personal pockets on her blue over shirt she neglected to take off before falling asleep last night. She reached inside and found the Rare Candy she found in her dream. She held it in front of her face as she lay dormant in her thoughts now completely devastated in terms of logical reasoning. She put the wrapped up blue candy on the floor beside her bed and ultimately decided what her course of action should be right now.

She closed her eyes, turned around, and buried her face in her pillow as she slowly fell half-awake with a part of her consciousness flying through the Orre sky and the other listening to the sound of her Litwick unwrapping and consuming something beside her bed.

Everyone was sleeping safe and sound in the room with the exception of one Pokémon who just gained a level up. Regardless of what the future brings for today, they will be well rested and ready to face it.


	9. Episode 6 Part 1 of 2

A new day has come and the sun has already risen over the Orre Region. The light that touched the town awoke the few towns people left behind. Spirits were being awakened within their abodes, and among them were Michael and Jovi within their room in the Pyrite Super Grand Hotel. Their eyes were beginning to open to see the beginning of this new day in their war against Neo Cipher.

Michael lay back on his bed slowly opening his eyes to see the ceiling and feel the warmth of his faithful Pokémon curled up on his side. Umbreon was sound asleep with his back nestled against his trainer's torso. The red headed teen smiled as he stroked his faithful companion left behind by his father at his side.

The red headed teen turned his head toward his sister's bed to see her Litwick was sitting beside the corner of the bed near Jovi's head in her pillow. He noticed the suspicious blue discarded wrapper of a type of candy sitting beside the Litwick that seemed content for some reason as it stared quietly into space with its usual smile.

As much as Michael wanted to lay back and continue sleeping, he knew in his heart he had to get up and be ready for today's effort against Neo Cipher. He already knows what he must do today in order to reach Ardos at Citadark Isle.

"I have to get the Robo Kyogre back to Gateon Port. Dr. Kaminko and Chobin should still be in their manor if Neo Cipher hasn't reached them yet. At the same time, we should see about evacuating everyone in Orre to Gateon Port later. We'll have strength in numbers and no one needs to be abducted alone… I need to check on Mom and the others.", Michael's inner voice briefed his current agenda for today.

Michael sat up on his bed, stirring Umbreon out of his sleep and leap on to the floor with grace. The awakened sleepy teen reached into his bag on the cabinet beside his bed and took out his P*DA. He opened it up to his email inbox to discover four new messages from different important contacts.

The first one was from Eagun in Agate Village, the most recent email titled, "Discovery!"

"Michael! I investigate the remains in the explosion sight of the Relic Forest and I found something important! Sitting in the bed of a pond nearby was a broken-", the message from the old myth trainer cut off. It seems he still has trouble with modern technology.

The second one was from Seth at the S.S. Libra's ruins. The message was titled, "Ready to Assist!".

"I've had fill of exploring cargo cruise liners in the middle of deserts. I'd like to help you anyway I can. I still have to redeem myself for having helped brought Shadow Pokémon upon us in the first place years ago. If you need anything, just give me a message telling me where you want me to be or if you need help. Or message me if you have questions over something I might know the answer to.", advised the message from the former Cipher Scientist while proclaiming his availability to be of use to Michael.

The third one was from Dr. Kaminko and Chobin at their manor in the forest. Their email was given the title, "Security Measures Prepared!"

"This is Dr. Kaminko typing this message to you, Michael. Chobin and I have repaired and properly fixed Chobin Bot. Now the machine has an improved friendly/enemy identification sensors, a guiding program for defining when a Pokémon Battle is over and what is an acceptable target to unleash a Pokemon's moves upon, and an improved adaptable strategy computing abilities for any Pokémon under his command. Visit us anytime and see the new and improved marvel!", the message welcomed Michael to the mad scientist's manor with the promise of no hostile Prototype Robo Trainers roaming the premises.

The fourth message came from Chobin three minutes after his professor sent his message. It was titled "Chobin thinks it's Stupendous!"

"Chobin Bot and Chobin are now friends! No burglar will ever touch our home again! Chobin thinks it's stupendous!", concluded the message with the doctor's aid's opinion on most of the doctor's inventions.

Acknowledging the messages, Michael proceeded to answer to every one of them after first asking Lily and Professor Krane via email if they're safe in the HQ Lab today. After Michael requested another message from Eagun explaining himself as well as cooperation for his defensive plan with Seth, confirmed with Seth and told him to head towards Agate Village to help evacuate everyone to Gateon Port, and responded to Dr. Kaminko and Chobin telling them about how the Robo Kyogre is needed again at Gateon Port, Professor Krane responded with another email with the title, "We're Alright!"

"Some of us are getting a little paranoid, but we're alright! We haven't seen any signs of Cipher around here, but we're ready to hide in the basement at any time. Lily says good morning to both of you!", the message concluded.

Michael closed his P*DA and slipped it back into his bag. He proceeded to put on his yellow vest over his compressed black long sleeved shirt and bunch up his mess of spiky red hair with his blue headband. He looked back at his sister who was still sleeping soundly in her bed. Mimi and Pluplu also slumbered in the comfort of the Pokémon Pillow in the corner of the room beside the automatic door.

As much as he didn't want to do it, he had to wake up Jovi from her dreaming and get ready for what today brings. Michael shook his sister's shoulder and called her name.

"Jovi! Jovi wake up please sister!", Michael requested of the blue haired sleeper.

Jovi groaned and bunched up the portion of her covers in her arms against herself. She opened her right eye to see her brother standing beside her bed ready to leave the room with Umbreon's Poke Ball in his right hand and his Snag Machine mounted over his left arm.

"Ahh morning Michael! …. What time is it? I had such a weird dream…", she said to her brother before yawning and stretching her right arm into the air.

"Sorry that I had to wake you up. But we need to move on up right now. We need to round up Pyrite Town's people and send them toward Gateon Port to keep everyone safe with the others soon. Nett will help us, but first we gotta get over to the ONBS building to start this operation.", Michael explained their current objective of morning.

"Ooh okay big brother… I'll be right with you.", Jovi replied.

Later after Jovi picked herself up from her bed, the veteran trainer and the novice trainer were both ready at the door with their sleepy Pokémon recalled to their capsules. Jovi made sure the old yellow backpack strapped to her back had all of her supplies she gained on her small adventure so far. She checked her pockets again to see if the Rare Candy she found in her dream was still there, but it wasn't.

"… Well never mind that then.", Jovi said to herself safely assuming it was all really just a dream after she finished checking her inventory.

"I had the strangest dream last night, Michael. Want to hear about it?"

"Your dream? Was it anything like my dream back at the Krabby Club?", Michael asked back suggesting a possible connection.

"… I never thought of that. Maybe it was! I don't know but it was pretty weird. Want to hear it?", the younger sister offered again.

"Mm-maybe later when we're eating our breakfast. Sounds good?", Michael presented a time and place for discussion on his sister's dream.

"Okay!", Jovi answered with her usual smile as she was ready to follow her brother onward toward this new day.

With everyone and everything together, the two siblings set out with their hotel key to give to Duking. He wasn't at the foyer room, so they left it on his reception desk and headed outside. The automatic door slid open and the light of the sun blinded the two for a brief moment before their eyes beheld an empty rusty town in the middle of nowhere.

"Well here we are again….", Michael said to himself as he felt the heat beginning to settle upon his shoulders.

He took a look around to see who was on guard. Nobody was standing near the lamp post near the Shop. Only a few clouds were in the sky and the sun was annoyingly hot today. A small breeze ran across the faces of the siblings.

"Let's see if Duking made breakfast today!", he said to Jovi before she acknowledged his suggestion.

They walked next door and returned to Duking's orange box-shaped hut. The siblings stood at Duking's door and waited for a brief moment. The automatic metal door slid open but the lights inside weren't on.

"Duking? You up?", asked Michael before he stepped forward and ran his right hand across the wall on his right coming in.

He found the light switch and flipped it to reveal an empty living room. Nothing was cooking on the stove and the door to the hidden back room was opened. Taking this brief investigation forward, Michael ventured forward into the once concealed passage way.

The Kids Grid's old hideout was turned into newly remodeled lab for Duking's Poke Snacks once upon a time after Michael's victory at Citadark Isle. Duking's patented Delicious Smelling Poke Snacks were decorated with an edible refined by-product of a Sweet Scent attack to attract as many Pokémon to his claimed Poke Spots as they could.

When the Orre Region was in its Wild Pokémon craze for a year and a half after Cipher's fall, there was a race to see how many Pokémon could be found and how quickly Pyrite Town, Gateon Port, and Phenac City's townspeople could find them. Duking was one of the people who lead Orre's Wild Pokémon craze by finding more Poke Spots far and wide across the once desolate region into unknown and uncharted territories.

Michael didn't involve himself in Duking's efforts to find them all until a new Poke Spot explorer named Agnol the Wild King surfaced out of nowhere with a TV crew and budget to find more Poke Spots than Duking ever could. After seeing Agnol find hordes of Wild Pokémon and calling Duking out as an inferior wimp, Michael was more than happy to help Duking with his rivalry and discover so many hidden Pokémon colonies within forests, caves, and badlands outside of Orre's borders.

But one day the Pokémon stopped appearing. Both Duking and Agnol were both put out of a job after a month of absolutely no Wild Pokémon to be seen. The constant search for Wild Pokémon from the many crazed trainers and hunters slowly ceased as their quests turned up fruitless. Thus ending the Wild Pokémon craze and putting Orre back into a familiar state of desolation.

Today, the lab was used as a bedroom and a storage room. Tables were left with junk on top and relics of an older time. A dusty family picture was sitting on the table. Duking and a much younger Marcia stood in front of what looks like The Pyrite Colosseum under construction.

"Duking isn't here….", Michael observed.

"Oh... so now what?", Jovi asked her brother pondering their next course of action.

"Well breakfast isn't here. Maybe it's at the ONBS building? Let's get going.", he answered.

The two protagonists made their way out of Duking's house and back on to Pyrite Town's main street. Facing the Duel Square, they walked across the dusty town towards the ONBS building just ahead. As they walked, Jovi looked at the town's Windmill and was reminded of what happened in her dream.

"Say big bro, did that windmill ever lose one if it's gears once? Like, ever?", she queried Michael.

"Huh? I don't know. Why do you ask?", he responded with raised concerns.

"In my dream it was missing a gear and everything was dark… but I see the bridge to the Colosseum is still there.", she noted the rusty clunky bridge's existence as opposed to its inexistence in her dream last night.

"Your dream is already starting to sound pretty weird to me.", Michael stated looking at his sister with his eyebrows raised before he turned t see what was in front of the ONBS building.

They both beheld a small group of Pyrite Town residents gathered in front of the ONBS building. The door to the building was covered with a layer of impenetrable steel. It was a security measure installed by the ONBS team to have steel doors lock front doors in the event of an attack. The building was in a lock downed state.

"What's going on here? What happened?", Michael asked recognizing the shop keeper in the small crowd along a few of Nett's appointed Colosseum trainers from last night's night watch.

"We can't get into the building! Their television broadcasting is off the air and nobody has come out yet!", Chaser Labet explained before he fruitlessly kicked metallic door.

Michael approached the building through the small confused crowd and tapped on the intercom. He spoke into it as everyone watched.

"Hello? Hello? Megg?"

"Megg isn't here… she went missing didn't she?", Jovi interrupted her brother's attempt at contacting the nonexistent receptionist.

"Oh right… anyone?... hello?...", called Michael one last time before a long period of silence fell upon them.

"What a way to start the morning…", the red headed teen thought to himself.

"Aye they aren't even responding to our calls and our emails!", the Sailor Monar provided more insight on the situation.

"Ancha! Where have you gone?", Labet pleaded an answer to the heavens for Orre's last anchorwoman.

"Where's Duking?", questioned Michael before seeing his allies point towards the Pyrite Colosseum across the chasm.

"He said something about a secret passage from the Colosseum to the ONBS building through the abandoned mining caverns. It was never connected, but he used his Flygon to finish the passage and enter Miror B's old lair.", the shop keeper explained.

"Through the old mines? But the way to the mines from the roof has been sealed hasn't it? Unless it can be removed…", Michael openly stated his thoughts to Pyrite Town's populace.

"The seal? … You mean that cave opening on the side of the cliff with all of those pipes that this strange professor lady opened in my dream last night?...", Jovi asked realizing the strange connection her dream had to reality right now.

"Professor-lady-what?", Michael asked with great concern over the contents of his sister's dream before turning his attention back to his allies.

"It could be dangerous in there. If Neo Cipher is behind this, they might be hiding in the mines waiting for us to let them take the town.", Ostix suggested a possible outcome.

"And you all let Duking go in there alone? He might be captured already if that's the case!", Michael suggested another really possible outcome.

"Alright here's the plan. I'm going in after Duking, and we're going to blast through the seal. We're going to find out what's happened to Nett and the others.", he continued providing his basic plan.

"I'll trust that you guys can hold the line until we come back. Hide in the Shop and barricade the doors and the windows. So long as you're all together, no one has to be abducted by Cipher's Peons."

"Ostix, you're in charge of this team from now on.", Michael assigned Fem Chaser Ostix to be their commanding officer by order of Orre's Champion.

"I will do my best.", the twin tailed bandana wearing young woman complied.

"If anything happens, I'll send you an email on your P*DA … if you'd give me your number."

After a quick exchange of P*DA numbers, Michael was ready to be on his way with his trust in his friends.

"We'll be back as soon

The team nodded and turned towards Ostix. They followed her around the corner towards the items shop as the siblings made their way across the bridge to the Colosseum.

Jovi held on to the red rusty rails and tried not to look into the abyss below as she quickly tried to keep up with her brother. In only seven seconds since their departure from the beginning of the bridge, they safely made it to Pyrite Colosseum's portion of the town. The blue sister breathed a sigh of relief as she stayed as far away from the edge of the fissure as she could while staying by her brother's side.

Michael proceeded into the Colosseum's main entrance. They entered the lobby of the Pyrite Colosseum. The two could see the bar that divided the attendees from the Colosseum's stadium was raised. Michael spotted the PC still sitting next to the receptionist's desk. Seeing as he will be entering a cavernous area soon, he found it necessary to adjust his Party Pokémon to their destination.

Michael's party now consists of his Umbreon, Magmar, Dragonite, Dusknoir, Poliwrath, and his trusted Lugia in case of major emergencies. Jovi watched her brother exchange the contents of his party and questioned his logic for needing to change. He then answered as he arranged his Party Pokémon's capsules in his waist bag over his left hip.

"Well, since we are going in a cave it might be more practical to have light source that is easy to manage, like Magmar, as opposed to Moltres. Because I can't imagine the interior of Pyrite Cave being spacious enough for flying flaming bird Pokémon to be too manageable. It might even get too crowded in there.", he answered.

"But you're bringing Lugia? Won't it really get crowded if you send him out in battle in there?", the blue sister asked further.

"That's true, but a sizeable Pokémon with as much destructive power and toughness like Lugia is a must when up against the likes of Cipher. Like my Snorlax for example, he won't go down without a fight. And their size can help protect us and my other Pokémon from incoming attacks and such in an emergency situation."

"Oh… fair enough big bro.", she responded with a little patient smirk.

"I could talk about strategy and strategic tactics and compositions all day, but we've got an abandoned coal mine to explore and find the passage back to the ONBS building AND find Duking along the way. You ready?", he asked now with his assembled Pokémon Team.

"Ready if you are!", she replied with positive tone.

"Let's be on our way! …. Say, this is irrelevant, but why hasn't-"

Suddenly, Michael's P*DA rang just as he was about to finish his question. His unfinished question was answered with this new message he had just received. It was from Eagun with the title, "Discovery! Sorry!".

"Sorry! My finger slipped and my P*DA was running out of batteries. But to the point, I discovered the fresh remains of a shattered Time Flute in the Relic Forest! I believe the two agents we were battling together were keeping us from seeing the Time Flute being played before the explosives were set. That must have been what happened! But it makes me curious, how did this new Cipher manage to find a Time Flute? Vander has left the Orre Region and Wes has never been heard of along with my granddaughter. Perhaps there are more Time Flutes in Orre than we thought… They must be trying to revive their Shadow Pokémon Plan. They might have been trying to capture Celebi to keep it from purifying more Shadow Pokémon… or worse. I fear we may have an even bigger problem.", concluded Eagun's message with a grim possibility.

It is common knowledge at this point that Celebi held the same wondrous power that the Relic Stone held. They both share the power to revive memories. The happiest, most enjoyable memories hidden away in the Shadow Pokémon's heart would be relived. When its bond with its trainer as at its strongest, this process would undo the final lock turn the Shadow Pokémon back into normal Pokémon capable of feeling happiness again. Michael never saw Celebi in his adventure, but he knows the Relic held a portion of its power that allows it to purify Shadow Pokémon.

It is said a Time Flute grants anyone the power to summon Celebi from Agate's Forest, but the instruments break after use, so they're really hard to come by. It is unknown just how many exist in Orre. There could potentially be more hidden in the dark corners of the land if Neo Cipher hasn't reached them yet.

"They really are trying to bring back Shadow Pokémon?", Jovi asked after listening to her brother read aloud Eagun's message.

"They must be. They even uprooted all the equipment from the desert lab and the Key Lair. But we don't know if they've already started their Shadow Pokémon production already… one thing we know for sure, the Purify Chamber is the last thing that can help Purify Shadow Pokémon now. I hope they weren't able to catch Celebi…", Michael expressed his hope for Celebi's safety.

The siblings proceeded into Pyrite Colosseum's stadium. Light shimmered from the broken panels in the ceiling of the dome. The stands were emptied, the banners were torn, and the paved panels of the battlefield were covered layers of dust and sand blown in from the surrounding desert.

They stepped across the stadium to see a large, forced cave opening hiding under the stands. Judging by its structure, it was dug out by a Pokémon that knew Dig. Duking's Flygon probably did the job.

The passage to the Pyrite Mines was open. Michael approached it and carefully stepped through the mouth of the makeshift entrance into the bowels of the old network of mine shafts. Jovi followed him through as they began descending downward into the depths on irregular ground.

Michael had his hands anchored to the walls he ventured across, constantly keeping him upright as he stepped downward on the dirt and boulders he carefully walked over. His sister followed her brother's method of keeping himself upright and made sure she was extra careful she descended with her brother. She found difficulty in keeping her footing however.

"Ah! I almost slipped there!", she said after feeling her right boot briefly enter a free fall between one rock and another.

"Be careful! I don't know how deep this goes. I wouldn't want any of us tumbling down this thing.", Michael advised caution to his sister.

They continued downward through the unnatural cave that gradually grew narrower and steeper until a light in the tunnel ahead signified the nearby entrance into the mines. All they had to do now was climb down a slope to their destination safely; which proved difficult as there was very little to rest their feet on as they made their way down. Nevertheless, they finally made it to the tunnel's exit into the well-lit abandoned mines at the expense of the pain in their feet and dirt on their clothing.

"Is this it? Are we here?", Michael asked out loud brushing off the dust on his yellow vested shirt as he emerged from the man-sized tunnel opening.

The smell of wet dirt and rusty metal assaulted their nostrils, but the sudden chill they both experienced when they entered the air space of the mines greatly outweighed the displeasure in their noses. Neither of them has ever felt so chilled in their life.

"Brrr! W-Why is it so cold down here?", Jovi expressed her discomfort as she held her arms in a cross across her chest and shivered.

"I don't know… usually when you go closer towards the Earth's core I'd imagine it would get hotter. But we aren't that far from the surface… maybe Neo Cipher is behind this somehow."

"Or maybe the sun's heat can't reach us this far down?", Jovi offered a simple explanation.

"Who knows? We better get going and find Duking before we try to find the sealed entrance.", he restated their objectives before scanning his surroundings.

From what they could see, they were in a chamber dug out by miners years ago that was lit by four tall standing flood lights. Looking around, he could see in the corner of the chamber where the cave wall curved into a connecting passage into the next chamber. Approaching it, Michael could see an old automatic metal door placed to divide the chamber from the room next door. It was broken wide, leaving a passage for the siblings to step through into the next room.

"Did Duking break this open? He must have. It's dented outward like something punched its way out of this room.", Michael observed.

The two entered the next chamber to discover an unusually decorative mining chamber. The walls were reinforced with metal poles holding functioning lit light tubes connected by metal wires lining the walls. In the center of the chamber was a small circular stage surrounded by a decorative metallic floor cut to the shape a ten-pointed star. Giant screws pinned the rusty orange metallic pattern to the ground on the arms of the star. Michael approached the stage and discovered the ramp beside it, facing the broken wide automatic door out of the chamber.

He stepped on to the stage with the convenience of the ramp and looked around. Jovi stood nearby looking at her brother inspecting the stage. Suddenly, the red headed teen came to a conclusion.

"This was Miror B.'s hideout wasn't it? Standing on here makes me feel like… feel like…", Michael tried to find a word for how he felt to be standing where Miror B. once danced.

"Feel like singing? Like you did when you were hypnotized at the Krabby Club?", the blue sister reminded Michael of an embarrassingly terrifying event that happened not too long ago.

"Oh gosh don't remind me. I haven't thought about that dream again recently with you bringing it up again. The nerve of Seth to trick me into singing for his act… and then letting me go through some cryptic dream… what was your dream about last night anyway?", Michael finally asked her.

Jovi explained what happened in her dream. The events that transpired in the reality she dreamed were detailed and specific. The missing gear in the windmill, the bridge between the Pyrite Colosseum and the town gone, and the state the ONBS building was in with all personnel having disappeared. Michael listened to her mention about a "Dream Professor" that was apparently looking for places Wild Pokémon could live in Orre if Orre had Wild Pokémon. This unsettled Michael to think dreams could be as closely related to the reality as they know it.

"Have you ever seen a white haired lady in a suit like that before? Maybe you saw someone like her in a TV show? Maybe she was from that anime you like? What was it… Pokémon Trozei with that Lucy Fleetfoot gal?", the red headed teen asked his sister who had apparently experienced her own little adventure.

"No no way. I couldn't have dreamed her so realistically like that… And besides, I think I'd remember someone like her… she seemed nice at least even though she never told me her name… so strange."

"Uh-huh… well… we're not even halfway into the mine but I'm already feeling like we're gonna find out something important once we get going. Let's find Duking and keep an eye out for Neo Cipher and that professor lady… if she's real that is.", Michael proposed the notion.

Jovi joined by her older brother's left side and walked beside him through the open metal gate. They walked down an old dug out tunnel before their shoes suddenly set their rubber on concrete. They looked to their sides to see the tunnel walls were divided by railings as if for a walkway.

Then the lights on the ceiling of the tunnel dimmed and stopped when they approached the mouth of the tunnel ending at a large underground cavern with cement platforms constructed by the old mining company standing in a seemingly empty abyss. The two took a moment to take in what they were seeing with the aid of mysteriously lit electric lamps and flood lights scattered across the standing platforms.

"This… is the abandoned coal mine?", Jovi asked her brother before she spotted something moving in the corner of her eye in the direction of a far off platform connected by a concrete bridge to another

"I have no idea... I can tell already this place is going to be a pain to get through. I see some stairs into the ceiling over there and I see there is one just ahead of us.", Michael observed before he felt his sister tap him on the shoulder to direct his attention towards a platform to their far left past the giant pipes on the cavern wall.

Michael's heart raced to see an unfamiliar class of Cipher Peon walking casually across the metal bridge constructed over the remnants of the older concrete bridge that used to connect the platform he left towards the platform Michael and Jovi have now found themselves at. The siblings were silent as they hid behind the cover of the giant pipe that blocked their vision of the enemy.

This Peon did not wear standard armor as the common Peon during the second crisis. It looked more like a formal military uniform while sporting shoulder plates under the clothes and a utility belt. This Peon appeared to be wearing the older uniform of standard Cipher Peon threads commonly seen during the first crisis. They may or may not have a different battle style from the modern Standard Peon. Time will tell in a moment.

"This bridge is secure. En route toward's Miror B's lair to inspect further before we can continue our operations.", said the Peon to his commanding officer via the radio in his helmet.

Seeing the imminent threat, Michael quickly thought of what his battle plan is to face against the enemy forces. Would he be stealthy and try to bypass all the guards? Or would he charge forward toward every Peon he could find and deliver swift justice, but alert the rest of the Neo Cipher in the cave of his interference?

While he stood thinking about it however, the Peon had already turned his head to see the two new intruders intruding into their territory. The foot soldier barked at them.

"Hey! Stay where you are!", he said approaching the two with his hands over his pockets around his waist.

Jovi hid behind her brother and watched as he engaged the Peon realizing too late who he was up against.

"Wait a minute… you're that kid! Michael! Y-You better surrender yourself now!", the Peon demanded before pulling his Poke Balls out of his utility pockets.

The Neo Cipher Peon approached and sent out his Vigoroth and Exploud opposing Michael's presence.

Michael responded and sent out his Umbreon and Magmar dividing their trainer from the attacking forces.

Trainers issued their commands and chose their Pokemon's moves to use.

The battle began with Vigoroth rushing forward with a Fake Out attack on Umbreon.

Umbreon endured a quick slap to the face before Flinching, wasting his turn.

Magmar jumped forward and spewed flames out of his mouth towards Exploud.

Exploud sustained multiple burns across its face and pipes before bouncing upward and using Body Slam on its igniter.

Magmar was on his back with Exploud's weight on him. He was Paralyzed, but Magmar's Flame Body left Exploud with a Burn condition.

Trainers issued their commands again.

Umbreon rushed forward and tackled Exploud with a decisive Faint Attack.

The combined damage from the Burn and the damage dealt by the two attacks proved too much for Exploud and down it fell fainted on the concrete.

Exploud was recalled back to its ball by its trainer, leaving Vigoroth behind.

Vigoroth jumped at Magmar and mauled him with a Slash attack.

Magmar fell backward on the concrete and fainted, forcing Michael to recall him to its ball and replace him with his Poliwrath.

Trainers issued their commands again, but the Peon spoke up and recalled his Vigoroth.

"I give up! You win this one!", he conceded to his defeat, putting his Poke Balls back into his pockets.

Michael won!

Poliwrath earned EXP. Umbreon was already maxed out on his level.

Neo Cipher Peon Valen's P*DA account has automatically transferred 500 Poke Dollars to Michael's account as prize money.

"As if Duking wasn't enough of a hassle to deal with... I guess this calls for drastic measures...", Valen said to himself.

He turned around as Michael, Jovi, Umbreon and Poliwrath watched with confusion as to what he is doing. He seemed to be talking to his commanding officer through his helmet radio.

"Alert. He's here. Suggesting Blackout Protocol and immediate evac to base at my request."

Michael stepped forward with his party closely beside him joining his endeavor to eavesdrop over the Peon's radio chatter.

"Roger. Ein is in the Reactor Chamber ready to commence protocol. Protocol begins in T-Minus Five… Four…", the voice in the radio began counting down.

Valen turned his head to see Neo Cipher's opposition looking back at him. He ignored them and took a few steps away from them before turning about face towards them and stood still before blinking out of sight.

The moment he disappeared, the various lights that illuminated the vast cavern suddenly flickered and sparked electricity before they stopped functioning, leaving Michael and Jovi in an eerily dark and silent cavern with cement platforms standing over an abyss and pipelines scattered across the foundation of an abandoned coal mine.

"Oh… Well that makes things a little more interesting doesn't it?", Michael said to his sister with a laugh.

"Gosh why do we always have to end up in dark places? Even my dream world of Pyrite Town was dark…." Jovi expressed her distaste of a common environmental feature most of the locations she and her brother ventured through as she stood closer beside her brother in the light of his Snag Machine.

"I hear ya sis… This is starting to get pretty old. But at least we're not helpless in the dark against any Specters this time. But that shouldn't mean we should be too careless.", responded Michael readying his Poke Balls to recall and send out Pokémon as he needs.

Michael recalled his Poliwrath but left his Umbreon out to venture beside him while also sending out his fainted Magmar. The red headed teen dug into his Medicine Pocket and took out a Revive and a Hyper Potion. Under the light of the fainted Magmar and the glow of Umbreon's rings, Michael crushed the Revive and spread it's dust over his Pokémon laying belly down on the concrete. Then he sprayed Magmar's body with the Hyper Potion to completely restore to full health.

Magmar woke up and picked himself off the ground and looked at his old savior ready to head forward into the darkness.

"All better? We're going to need you to light the way forward through this mine, so I'll need you out here ready to go forward with us, alright Magmar?"

The Spitfire Pokémon nodded and breathed a small plume of fire. Magmar and Umbreon kept themselves beside their trainer and awaited further instructions.

"Alright. We're set to keep going. Let's try these stairs first. We'll cross that bridge and see what's over there later.", Michael proclaimed his plan of exploration.

Michael took a few steps toward the set of stairs that were infront of them. Jovi joined beside him with his Pokémon following behind them until they immediately stopped. Confused, they see Michael spotting something in the light of the party's glowing machine and body parts.

"Is that a Healing Machine? Was that there the entire time?", Michael spotted the functioning faintly glowing beside the staircase.

"... I guess it was?", Jovi answered unsure if he really wanted this answer.

The red headed teen was silent for a moment before he waved his hand brushing away the acknowledgement that he used up medicine when he could have simply healed his Pokémon quickly and more efficiently with the machine.

"Forget it. Just goes to show that you never know what's up ahead that might help or hurt you in a dungeon like this. Let's keep moving.", he dismissed the subject and lead the party to up through the stairway.

The red headed teen stepped off of the stair case on into a dug out cave system above the cavernous space below. Magmar and Umbreon stepped forward in front of their trainer to provide their light. Jovi kept beside her brother and joined him in his immediate scanning of the cave.

They're in a deep part of the mine littered with remnants of the old mining company. Oil lamps were left unlit on the walls with their attached wooden posts. Beside a few discarded crates and twisted metal were piles of black dusty coal.

"How old is this place?", Jovi asked Michael as she poked a discarded wheelbarrow with the tip of her boot.

"I'm not sure… I think it's safe to say its a couple decades old though."

Suddenly Magmar and Umbreon sensed something in the darkness ahead. The cave split into two paths into dark chambers, but they both sensed it coming from both of the paths. Michael turned and jumped forward to see who or what was coming towards them.

"Who's there?!"

Out approaching from the darkness came a horde of enraged red-eyed Spinarak looking at Michael's Pokémon with hostile shrieks from the left-most path and a Classic Standard Peon with a Metagross out of its ball ready to battle from the right path.

"Rush them! Don't let them reach the chambers!", the Peon shouted his orders at the Pokemon opposing Michael's party.

Ten enraged Spinaraks, led by a Metagross towering over them approached the party menacingly.

Michael sent out his Polirath to join Umbreon and Magmar. Jovi sent out her Litwick, Mimi, and Pluplu to back up her brother's Pokémon.

The Spinaraks approached with Metagross switching to a hovering mode.

The Trainers issued their commands before the conflict began.

Umbreon used Confuse Ray on the Metagross, but the attack missed over the Spinaraks beginning to surround him.

Magmar spewed a Flamethrower attack from its mouth and doused as many of the Spinarak in super effective flames as it could, but the Metagross tackled it with a Take Down attack to keep it from sweeping all the Spinarak.

Poliwrath used a Karate Chop on the Metagross before it was over taken by a three annoying Spinaraks constantly biting his body.

Jovi's Litwick blasted what's left of the Spinaraks with a Flame Burst attack as Mimi and Pluplu helped defeat the remains of the horde of Spinarak with synchronized Spark attacks.

Metagross was the only Pokémon left with the enraged Spinaraks now laying on their backs singed and shocked from Jovi's Pokémon and Michael's Magmar. It was shortly ganged up on as its trainer watched nervously.

It was bitten, doused in fire, blasted, and electrocuted at the same time in a barrage of attacks.

The Metagross collapsed and fainted with its mouth open in shock before it was returned to its ball.

Michael and Jovi achieved victory! Exp was awarded to all friendly Pokémon involved.

1000 Poke Dollars were automatically awarded to each victor from Neo Cipher Peon Zalo's account on his P*DA.

"I just had my promotion too…", Zalo said before blinking out of existence leaving behind the fainted Spinarak.

Michael and Jovi stood over the fainted Spinarak. The blue haired sister felt a little sorry for them as she could see a few of them twitching their legs.

"Wow. So that's how they're going to fight us?", Michael asked out loud as he scanned the battlefield.

"They're just going to mass up Pokémon and throw them at us like this? All of these Spinarak had those red glowing eyes too… just like the Areodactyls and the Slaking… weird.", Michael noticed the common feature the trainerless enraged Pokémon he encountered.

"And he didn't even return them. Who's Pokémon are these?"

Left with this question, Pokémon were recalled to their balls, leaving Magmar and Umbreon out to walk beside their trainer. Michael led the party into the passage where the Spinarak came from.

As they ventured forward into the dark cave, they slowly started noticing the webbing spread across the junk and metal strewn against the rocky walls. Spinarak webbing appeared to have overwhelmed the old mining equipment and structures left behind. The two immediately started noticing the threads of Spinarak webbing hanging from the ceiling before the ground they were stepping upon were completely covered in webs.

"Is this a Spinarak Nest? How long has this been here?", Michael expressed his immense curiosity for this colony of possible Wild Pokémon.

"Do you see any Spinarak? Big bro?", Jovi asked trying to see signs of life where they stood outside the chamber.

Michael looked to his Pokémon slightly struggling to lift their feet in the webs. Umbreon growled as he pulled his paws and Magmar stood turning its burning head at Michael as its tail accidentally ignited small portion the webbed ground behind him.

"Woah! Put out that fire!", the red headed teen shouted before sending out is Poliwrath to spit water on the burning webs.

After a quick extinguishing, Michael was about to turn to Magmar to discuss safety measures before the sound of scurrying and screeching echoed from within the dark chamber.

Jovi stood behind her brother's Umbreon as five Spinaraks approached from the darkness with eyes appearing to be far less vicious than the Spinarak recently encountered. Despite the difference, they looked angry to see their visitors.

"Screeh! Ssscreeh!", three Spinaraks hissed through their little mandibles before one jumped at Umbreon.

The Umbreon defended himself with a Bite attack. The Spinarak instantly fainted and fell on its back with its legs in the air.

Seeing the fainted comrade, the other two Spinaraks retreated back into the chamber where a huge collection of cries were suddenly heard at once. It sounded like there were many more Spinarak waiting inside the chamber.

"Get back!", Michael shouted to his sister before he arranged his Pokémon in a row over the entrance to the nest chamber.

Poliwrath, Magmar, and Umbreon stood side by side to see the horde of Spinarak swarming the walls and the floor. The moment they came close enough, Michael issued his commands and his Pokemon let loose a barrage of attacks.

Despite their numbers, they instantly dispersed and scattered in a panic when Magmar sprayed its Flamethrower attack in between them. The battle did not last long as all the Spinarak ran away and scattered in the deepest part of the chamber. The path was clear albeit a little burnt.

"Why did they run away? They're acting so differently from those other Spinarak… Let's see what's in here… stay close.", Michael said to his sister before venturing into the cave chamber encrusted in sticky webbed surfaces with his Pokémon close by.

Jovi walked with him stepping over the sticky surfaces and burnt web residue. Inside the nest chamber, the walls were infested with hiding Spinarak behind thick layers of webs. It felt cold and moist inside the confined space, but keeping near Magmar helped keep herself warm.

In a brief moment, the glow of Magmar, Umbreon, and Michael's lights revealed a mysterious machine coated entirely in webs sitting in the center of the chamber.

"What is this?", Michael asked himself as he poked it with his right hand through the webs.

The machine itself appeared to be a black metallic cylindrical device standing upright on steel legs rooted into the ground. The webs covered the device everywhere except for its dome shaped cap sitting on its base. Whirring sounds could be heard from within the mysterious machine.

"…. This doesn't look like any machine I've ever seen Cipher use…."

"Why is it in here?", Jovi asked stirring speculation in Michael's mind.

Before he could respond, the machine's dome opened and revealed a rotating assortment of tiny moving parts. The parts darted in all directions in a complicated manner. As Michael observed, he noticed a strange ear pitching sound emanating out of the machine. His Pokémon were beginning to growl with irritation and shake their heads as they stood guard beside their trainer. Before they could be addressed, the sounds of the swarm of Spinarak shrieking suddenly pierced everyone's ears again before walls of red Spinarak eyes came into view of the two trainers.

"W-What is happening?!", the blue haired sister asked worried to see the the wall of enraged Spinarak eyes surrounding them.

"I-I don't know! But I think this thing needs to be destroyed right now!", he said slamming his Snag Machine mounted hand on the machine before the swarm surrounded and jumped all over the Party.

In a moment of chaos, Magmar blasted as many Spinarak as he could while Poliwrath punched and shot out high volumes of water attacks towards the hordes. Umbreon was overwhelmed from the constant super effective Bug Type attacks and fell.

Jovi sent out all of her Pokemon to help fend off against the horde, but Michael directed her attention to the machine.

"Hold on! Get your Pokémon to destroy this thing!", he requested as he replaced Umbreon with his Dusknoir to hold off the swarm.

Jovi directed her Pokemon's attention to the device and issued her commands.

Mimi shot a Thundershock attack in unison with Pluplu's Thundershock attack.

The machine took minor damage and continued emitting sounds.

Litwick hopped upward and blasted it with a Flame Burst attack.

The flames consumed the machine's moving parts and the splashing flames hit nearby Spinarak on their webs.

Following this attack, Michael drew his Pokémon's attention to the machine and issued one last effort to finish it off as the swarm already started crawling over the defending Pokémon and hopping on to the two trainers.

With a Shadow Punch, Karate Chop, and a Cross Chop forced upon the machine, the device caught fire and exploded into pieces leaving a husk topped with a dome-less pile of burnt metal.

As soon as the device was destroyed, all the enraged Spinarak that were already overwhelming the party stopped moving and fell on their backs before retreating into the inner sanctums of the nest. The few Spinarak behind acted passive and indifferent to their visitors.

Michael and Jovi stood unable to comprehend how close they were to seeing a potential defeat at the hands of a mind-controlled swarm of Spinarak. Their hearts were racing as they clung on to one another, but they found solace once they realized the confrontation was over and their Pokémon were still standing guarding them before the presence of the destroyed machine.

"Th-that was too close.", Michael said to his sister as he brushed a single Spinarak lying motionless and confused on his head before facing his sister.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? Jovi?", he asked as he approached her brushing off webs from her hair.

"I'm fine! I'm fine. Don't worry big bro!", she assured him with a smile out of the fear that left her a moment ago.

"Ah I'm glad. We did it! We destroyed whatever that thing was and freed the Spinaraks from its control. My assumption about it was spot on!", he proclaimed the conditions of their victory as he glimpsed toward the machine letting loose a small stream of smoke into the air.

"Huh? You mean that machine was controlling all these Spinaraks?", Jovi asked expressing her shock of this notion.

"Yes! That Peon back there was not in direct control of the Spinaraks that attacked us with his Metagross, but he was still able to give the command to attack in a group. And the way the Spinaraks acted were much like the Areodactyls at the Cipher Key Lair and the Slaking in Gateon Port from Agnes's customer. They were selfless and violent but they acted way different than anything even a Shadow Pokémon acted. They were being mind-controlled somehow.", Michael had deducted.

"And this machine was relaying that control to this colony of Spinaraks. I don't know if Neo Cipher had placed these Spinaraks here or they were always here, but I know they took advantage of them with this machine…. Maybe Seth could tell me something about this.", he continued before pulling out his P*DA to access his inbox.

Michael sent a message detailing the machine and its placement in the center of a Spinarak colony in the abandoned Pyrite Mine. After sending his request for information, he realized that he never got a message back from Seth on whether or not he made it to Agate Village to help Eagun evacuate the village people to Gateon Port.

Then he realized he didn't even respond to Eagun's previous message about the mysterious Time Flute fragments found beside the Relic's ruined ground. He quickly messaged the Myth Trainer a response asking for what is happening at Agate Village. He sent the message just before he received one from Seth titled, "Machine?".

"A machine that controlled Spinarak you say? I don't remember ever seeing or even hearing about the concept of a stationary hive mind emulator, but it is not out of the question that Cipher may have commandeered this technology from other factions and syndicates far away from Orre. At least, it's a possibility. I've never heard of such a contraption, but it is very possible there may be more of these units manipulating and producing Enraged Pokémon like the Slaking and the Areodactyl we've faced so far. Be prepared for anything Michael.", read the message before reading the passing note below.

"P.S. I made it to Agate Village. Eagun and I have already set everyone on a caravan of trucks and cars across the desert. I will message you once we are secure in Gateon Port."

With that read, Michael was relieved to know Agate Village's residents are under the protection of both Eagun and the magician and are now on their way to Gateon Port to group up with the rest of Orre's inhabitants as soon as possible. There is still the matter of getting Pyrite Town's remaining citizens to Gateon Port as well as Michael's family and Dr. Kaminko and his aide, not to mention the Robo Kyogre Michael will likely need to get to Citadark Isle from Gateon Port.

The red headed teen sent a response of acknowledgement and closed his P*DA.

"Well, we got more ground to cover. This was a dead end, but at least we freed these Spinaraks.", he said as he returned all of his Pokémon excluding Magmar.

Jovi returned all of her Pokémon as well and kept by the light of her brother's Pokémon as they exited the nest back into the way they came. Leaving behind the webs, Jovi could see a few wandering Spinaraks confused and directionless in their own domain when she looked back. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them.

"Hmm… should we scout ahead now or should we go heal up at the healing machine down stairs first?", Michael asked himself in his mind.

After a mental coin toss, he chose to head back to the healing station to keep his party healthy without using up his supplies. It would better suit him to have a fully healed party to defend themselves rather than risk facing what is ahead after the damage they have sustained already from the Spinarak swarm.

"Let's head back to that Healing Machine.", He said to his sister who was busy looking at all the fainted Spinarak left behind in their previous battle against the Neo Cipher Peon earlier.

Jovi complied without a second thought and in a moment they were heading back down the stairs to inspect the functional Healing Machine. When they came around and approached it, they discovered the older model of Orre's standard issue PC that was replaced with the cheaper, more modern model produced four years ago. Michael inspected it with fascination over this ancient technological relic of a time long past.

"How long was this here?! Man look at this thing! I've only seen these scrapped up in junk piles!", Michael expressed his fascination over the classic hardware.

"Does it still work?", Jovi asked as she watched him tap on its sides and examine the curved keyboard as he stood on its small metal place in the ground.

"It might… I'm not sure though if it's connected to a generator or it's got a…. hold up! There's a button here.", Michael announced his discovery of a peculiar button behind the classic PC.

When he pressed it, the circuits inside began working again and a holographic interface was displayed on its board. The buttons below on the keyboard began glowing in different colors. The system was booting up after its long dormant state.

"Woah look at this UI. I've only seen this in school books back home…. It looks like nobody has been using this thing for a while.", he observed.

"Can you use it? Can you log in?", Jovi asked as she stood by his side.

"I think I can! I just need it to connect to my P*DA. Hold on a moment….", answered Michael before pulling out his P*DA.

After an unusually long synchronization process between the old PC and the P*DA, Michael was logged into the system, displaying his Save information on the holographic screen. A full body picture of him could be seen with the number of Pokémon he has displayed over his total time as a Pokémon Trainer.

"You did it!", cheered Jovi with glee.

"Yeah! …. But what good does this do me? I suppose I could switch my Pokémon out anytime now but we're here to heal up, not mess around with this.", said Michael stepping off of the PC's plate to finally start healing his party at the healing Machine.

As he did so, Jovi pondered for a moment. She thought of the directionless Spinaraks ahead that were left freed from the strange machine. Suddenly she had an idea.

"Hey big bro, don't you have a Pokémon like Spinarak?", she questioned as her brother retrieved his Pokémon.

"Oh? Yeah I do. Ariados. She used to be a Shadow Spinarak in the past. Why?", queried Michael as he resent out of Magmar and Umbreon to keep a a source of light in the party.

"I was just thinking. What if those Spinaraks up there met your Ariados? What do you think would happen?", the sister suggested a curious scenario.

"….Uuhh… What? You think be friends? Or something?", Michael asked with an eyebrow raised at his sister.

"I don't know? Maybe? They looked really clueless after we destroyed their machine. I sorta felt bad for them...", Jovi admitted kicking the heel of her right foot against the other.

"Hmm… well for you I'll try it. It will be a small experiment for us before we go find Duking down the road.", Michael agreed to proceed with this notion.

After switching Dusknoir for the evolved form of Spinarak he has in his care, the party set off back up the stairs, Umbreon and Magmar arranged in front of Michael as he walked beside his Ariados skittering beside her trainer. Jovi kept by her brother's side and anxiously waited to see how the Spinaraks would interact with Michael's Long Leg Pokémon.

The fainted Spinerak that were once laying in the split fork in the path have disappeared from the scene of the battle. Continuing forward, they discovered a pile of fainted Spinaraks tossed beside the entrance to the nest with a couple docile String Spit Pokémon idling over their webbed entrance.

"Well here we are. Go ahead Ariados. Try talking to them if you can.", Michael gave his Ariados permission to engage the passive Spinarak in the language of jitters and screeches.

The rest of the party watched as their Bug and Poison type Pokémon made contact with one of the former minions of the machine. Ariados chattered with one of the Spinaraks that snapped out of its slow daze and directed its attention to its evolved form.

Ariados aggressively screeched an expression and Spinarak clicked back with a less enthusiastic sound before turning to look at Michael, Jovi, and Michael's two Pokémon standing by keeping the chamber lit.

"What are they doing?", asked Jovi.

"I don't know! Just wait a second…"

Ariados let out a cry, and out from the nest came crawling five more Spinaraks joining the two arachnid Pokémon. The little six legged Bug and Poison type Pokémon approached the pile of fainted Spinaraks and started grabbing them by their mandibles and taking them back into the nest. This astounded the two trainers, but then they heard someone call out from inside the nest.

"Hey! What's going on out there?!", the voice of a man echoed.

Out from the nest among the Spinarak came a new class of Neo Cipher Peon with its Magnemite in the air holding pieces of metal resembling the machine's dome on its magnets. The Peon wore a helmet with the entirety of his face covered in a dark shaded visor. He wore minimal armor compared to a Standard Peon and had a machine on his back connected to the lit Fusion Cutter held in his left hand. He stood there over the Spinarak for a moment with his floating Magnemite before he realized the situation he is in.

"Oh… well I'm out of here. See ya!", the Engineer Pawn said before making a run for it with his Magnemite.

In a quick moment, Ariodos screeched at the Spinarak before they let loose a barrage of Pin Missle attacks toward the Magnemite. To Michael and Jovi's surprise, and surprise of the Engineer Pawn the Magnemite fainted with its eye crossed on the rocky ground dropping the machine parts from its magnets.

"Magnemite!", the Peon called in his panic before returning it to his Poke Ball.

Before he could continue running, Ariados screeched again and two Spinaraks jumped forward and spat String Shot attacks at the Peon. One of the attacks landed and attached a string to the Peon's back that carried the Spinarak up into the air by its mouth through its mandibles after the fleeing Peon.

In a moment, the chamber was silent with only the sounds of ticking and screeching from the Spinarak Colony now apparrantly under Ariados's leadership. The large faithful Pokémon turned to its trainer and awaited his next course of action.

"… Well that escalated quickly… what was all of that?! Was that guy trying to repair that thing?", Michael expressed his confusion.

The Spinaraks cleared a way for Michael to re-enter the nest. As he could see, the machine appeared to be in the process of being replaced with another cylindrical shaped machine implanted into the ground. Michael kicked the pieces around and scattered the materials of the small building site, destroying the integrity of its base and ruining the building process all together.

"There! No more mind control devices for these Pokémon.", he declared before returning to his Party waiting for him with the small swarm.

"Big brother! I think the Spinaraks have made your Ariados their leader! … or Ariados made herself their leader… I'm not really sure. But they look ready to help out!", Jovi stated based on her observations.

"You think that's why they all attacked that Magnemite like that?", he asked his sister.

"I think so! … I think…", she answered looking at all the Spinarack who seemed much friendlier than they were before.

Michael turned to his Ariados. Ariados looked back and nodded with a small assuring skittering sound from its mandibles. The Spinarak looked eager as some bounced their abdomens and jumped in place over the webbed ground. Magmar and Umbreon looked at each other as they could see how fascinated Michael was to have his own little army.

"Haha! Then let's go everybody! Ariados, keep them behind us. Magmar, Umbreon, stay a little ahead of us and follow my lead. We're bringing Duking back and taking down Cipher's base of operations here.", he said to everyone before he lead his own army to their first battle as a horde.

As always, Jovi stayed by her brother's side as he lead the newly acquired army into the cave chamber they haven't explored yet from the cavern's crossroads. Despite the darkness, she felt far safer with the vast numbers now in their ranks. Looking at the Spinarak now, she found them a little cute unironically.

Just ahead was a set of stairs guarded by a single Classic Peon standing with his Banette and Forretress out of their capsules waiting for a fight. The Peon could see Michael and his two glowing Pokemon first, not realizing the army behind him.

"So I see you've destroyed the Unit we placed in our Spinarak Colony. Odlow tried to fix it before you came back", the Peon said.

"Now I'm here to buy my friends more time to build their defenses. So give me your best shot!", the Peon said eager to battle his opposition.

Instead of unleashing the army behind him, Michael respected his foe's wishes and battled him fair and square. In the span of two minutes, Neo Cipher Classic Derid was defeated with super effective attacks on both of his Pokémon. Forretress was fired and Banette was bit and shaken around like a ragdoll before its zipper unzipped itself, knocking the spirits out of it. Michael earned 500 Poke Dollars from this victory.

"Well… I guess that'll do.", Derid said before blinking out of existence with his Pokémon.

The path was clear again, and Michael led the army down the stairs. Spinarak crawled downward following Jovi behind her brother and her brother temporarily withdrew his Magmar to make it through the stairs more easily. Ariados climbed with the Spinarak over the walls of the stairway and on to the ceiling of the dark basement sewers.

"It's getting pretty crowded here, but the more the merrier I guess haha!", Jovi said looking back at their party of twenty three.

"Yeah heh you'd think. I think they're following Ariados though, not us.", Michael added as he continuously heard the pitter patter of the arachnid Pokémon behind them and on the ceiling and concrete.

"Let's head across this bridge. Magmar, Umbreon, keep yourselves in front and light the way."

They approached the bridge safeguarded by an untrustworthy rustic guard rail. Ahead of them waiting on the next platform were two classic Peons facing them in the dark.

"You, shall not, PASS!", one peon declared before Zubat and Golbat cries were heard echoing throughout the cavern.

"Go gettem boys!", the other Peon shouted before running up the stairs with the other joining him.

The party and its army halted. Michael frantically looked the darkness trying to hear where the Zubat and Golbat were coming from. Jovi stood close to him joining in his quick scan of the air space before an explosion was set off right behind them in their swarm of Spinaraks.

Golbats and Zubats swarmed the party, blasting the groups of Spinarak with Sludge Bomb attacks and Wing Attacks that pushed clusters of Spinarak into the abyss in the confusion. Ariados shrieked and the Spinarak responded with their String Shot and Pin Missle Counter Attacks on the red eyed Golbat that seemed to be under the same state the Spinarak once were.

"It's an ambush! Umbreon, Magmar, push forward to the stair case! Ariados, use Spider Web on as many of them as you can!", Michael shouted his commands as he stood behind his Umbreon and Magmar.

In the panic of the flying projectiles and constant explosions of poisonous attacks, Spinaraks on the ceiling clumsily fell on to Jovi head. She shrieked before she brushed the confused Spinarak off of her hair and sent out her Pluplu and Mimi to help fight the annoying flyers with their super effective Thundershock attacks.

Magmar and Umbreon plowed their way through countless Zubat and numerous Golbat that tried to stop them as the stragglers were quickly encased in webs and downed by the combined effort of the Spinaraks and the Ariados leading them. The way ahead was clearing, and Michael took the chance for everyone to head up the stairs as fast as they could.

"Let's move! Up these stairs! Come on!", he barked rushing his Umbreon, Magmar, his sister and the leading arachnid Pokemon up the stairs with what's left of the crawling swarm.

Entering the new cave chamber, Michael heard the voices of the two Peons hastily closing a wire gate blocking one path in the cave while the one other path was blocked by a giant solid gate that didn't appear to have been there before.

A couple Zubats and one Golbat escaped into the chamber from the stairway and wreaked as much havoc as they could with Wing Attacks, Poison Stings, and Sludge Bombs on Umbreon and Magmar. Immediately Jovi's Pokemon jumped and combined a chain lightning strike across the flock of enraged Bat Pokémon before they fell to the ground, still attempting to fight Magmar and Umbreon. They were quickly overwhelmed by the combined biting attacks of the Spinaraks and Umbreon's attacks accompanied by Magmar's stream of flames.

By the time this battle was over, Golbats and Zubats littered the way across the bridge with needles and webs covering their wings. Several Spinarak fainted along the way, leaving a not-as-potent army of crawlers as before.

"What a rush that was! Wow!", Michael expressed his shock of the sudden battle that unfolded just now as he continued feeling his adrenaline rush.

"Y-Yeah! Good thing we had help huh? But I think we're missing a few little guys…", Jovi noticed as she held her tired Pluplu and Mimi on her shoulders.

"They'll be fine. Spinaraks are experienced in dark places like caves and such. No need to worry about them.", he said with a nod.

"Oh, well if you say so.", answered Jovi with half of a smile before checking her Mimi and Pluplu sitting on her shoulders ready to help out any way they can.

Michael stepped forward to see analyzes the choices presented to him in terms of direction. The large metal gate appeared impassible, but the smaller wired gate built into its wired metal fence seemed far more traversable at the moment. The red headed teen lead the party and its following arachnid Pokemon to the wired door.

"They locked the door with a padlock?", Michael observed seeing the lock on the other side of the fence.

"What do we do now?", asked the younger sister uncertain of how they'll get past this obstacle.

Michael looked at his Umbreon and Magmar, before looking to his Ariados. The only thing in their way was a simple wire fence. He couldn't see why they can't just force their way in.

"Magmar! Blast it with a Flamethrower attack! Ariados, use Pin Missle attacks with the Spinaraks on the door!"


	10. Episode 6 Part 2 of 2

With a single blast of fire and multiple high velocity impacts of spine projectiles from the crawling Bug and Poison type Pokémon, the door turned into a hole in the fence. The party rushed inside the breach and continued forward into enemy territory. There at the end of the chamber was a classic Peon dressed in purple standing beside a strange elevated panel on the floor.

"Oh heck no. I'm not even gonna dream of battling you without back up.", the Peon said before stepping over the elevated panel and disappearing an orange light that enveloped him.

"H-Hey! Get back here!", Michael demanded running up to the small elevated platform but he was already too late.

The Peon disappeared in the light the panel emitted. Michael looked down on it and discovered it was a teleportation panel. Technology he has never seen in the Orre Region, but only heard exists in other regions.

Jovi and the rest of the party and the army caught up to him to see what the matter was. They joined Michael in standing in front of the teleportation panel. He turned to them and explained what had happened.

"He escaped through this teleportation panel… Cipher has gotten a lot more innovative over the years it seems…"

"Teleportation panel?", Jovi asked.

"Yeah. I've only heard of this sort of technology coming from Hoenn and Kanto, but never here. If I don't recall, these panels can only teleport a person to another panel synched in the same frequency. Somewhere in this network of caves is another warp panel synched with this one…"

"Is it safe to use?", she asked looking down at the technologically advanced elevated floor panel.

"Not likely. They're probably waiting for one of us on the other side. And we can only use these panels one person at a time.", Michael explained further.

He turned to his Pokémon who were awaiting his decision. Michael took a moment to think it over before he drew his Poke Balls for Magmar and Umbreon. He recalled them both while leaving Ariados to guard his little sister.

"Be back in a moment. I'm gonna make sure the other side is safe enough to cross.", he said with the light of his Snag Machine and the dim orange light of the warp panel barely illuminating the chamber.

"Michael? Are you sure?", Jovi asked with great concern as her Plusle and Minun joined her expression of worry.

"Don't worry! Everything will be alright. Ariados, keep her safe until I come back okay?", Michael requested of his large arachnid Pokémon before stepping over the panel.

"B-But wait! What if-", Jovi was interrupted by the sound of the panel working below Michael's feet.

The world around him fizzled out and in in an instant. As soon as his vison recovered, he stepped off of the platform into a pitch black chamber void of any friendly presence. All he could hear was the sound of his own breath in the dark.

"… I don't like this. This can't be completely empty… can it?", he voiced to himself.

Just as Michael was about send out his Magmar; the all the lights in the mines were turned back on, freezing Michael in place as his eyes were blinded by the lights.

"Gaaah!", Michael shouted in the pain in his eyes as he held his right arm up to his eyes.

"You've made a big mistake kid!", a voice shouted at Michael.

Clenching his teeth and blinking his eyes over and over again, he slowly regained his vision to see two purple Classic Peons standing side by side of a familiar foe he fought in Agate Village moments before the Relic's destruction.

"Oh darling. You think you're just going to just waltz right through here and have your way with our cargo and conscripts? You're even more ambitious than the last time. Such a shame your journey must end here."

Michael beheld Venus, dressed in a stealthy but elegant ninja suit camouflaged with the darkness. She sported a small black crescent moon on her back pointing upwards. Her face was concealed from the crest of her nose down in black cloth, revealing her hazel colored eyes and small strands of brown hair.

Michael stood before her seeing that she was not accompanied by the mysterious "Remo Trainer" Dakim mentioned in the Cipher Key Lair. But she was not any the less menacing.

"I'm sorry that I can't stay to see you suffer for your nasty crimes against us. But I must meet with our master. Soon the world he dreams of will be made into a reality. Everyone will finally be able to enjoy the beauty of the new world. But you won't be given the chance to see it. You poor pitiful thing.", she said before turning away towards the metal corridor built into the cavern ahead and disappeared.

The warp panel behind Michael began malfunctioning as tremors suddenly appeared shaking the ground. In front of the two Classic Peons, a giant protruding bulge in the earth suddenly appeared and burst to reveal a tunneling Steelix that appeared to be under the control of another mind controlling unit as it had fierce red eyes in its sockets. The Peons added two of their own Pokémon to the chaos. Each sent out a Mightyena and a large unidentified Pokémon that both sported two large tusks and wooly hair surrounding its menacing face.

Michael used his P*DA to identify them as Mamoswine, an evolved form of Piloswine. He couldn't take the time to revel in this previously unknown discovery as he could feel the massive Pokémon and the two Mightyena rushing towards him with great intent on doing him harm.

The red headed teen sent out his Magmar, Poliwrath, and Lugia to defend himself with their presence.

The Mightyena's rushed at Michael's Lugia and attacked with super effective Bite Attacks before the Mamoswines joined the attack and gored Lugia with ice encrusted tusks.

Lugia barely stood after feeling the burn of the frozen tusk marks on its body and bite marks from the vicious Dark types. Steelix lunged forward and tackled Lugia, forcing Michael to jump out of the way behind his Poliwrath who was awaiting his commands.

Finally Michael retaliated after issuing his commands.

Poliwrath used Karate Chop on a Mightyena and Magmar used a Flamethrower attack on a Mamoswine, but only the single Mightyena fainted to the retaliation.

Lugia couldn't use Earthquake before a single Mightyena and the two Mamoswines pushed forward and knocked out the legendary Pokémon, unable to keep upright in the pain of the fast repeated attacks.

Seeing his Lugia faint to an attack shocked Michael in the wake of the moment, but he couldn't dwell on it for too long as he saw the Mightyena and Mamoswine charge at him with great fury.

He kept himself safe with his Dragonite sent out to block the attacks his trainer quickly shouted another assortment of commands.

Magmar rushed forward and blasted a Mamoswine with a direct Fire Blast attack, fainting it instantly before Poliwrath Karate Chopped the last Mightyena , knocking it out. Dragonite used an Outrage attack towards Steelix on its own accord unfortunately dealing little damage from its ineffective type matchup.

Steelix slammed down on Poliwrath with its large metal head, allowing the last Mamoswine a free path towards Michael's position in the corner of the chamber. The large tusked Pokémon made a beeline for him as Magmar desperately rushed to intervene. Seeing Magmar won't be able to catch him in time, Michael acted quickly and sent out his last Pokémon.

"Umbreon! Bite! Quickly!", he sent out his last Pokémon to stop Mamoswine in its tracks.

The Moonlight Pokémon answered the call and jumped at Mamoswine, biting its snout. The Mamoswine bellowed in pain as it continued the charge despite Umbreon's attack.

Michael's eyes widened as he quickly backed up against the rocky wall with his arms spread wide. He stood gasping in fear as he saw the tusks approach. He closed his eyes with his heart racing in fear of the impending sharp sensation he was about to feel in his chest.

The sound of the impact made Michael open his eyes again to see the giant tusks nearly the size of his body had missed him, but barely. He stood between the two tusks infront of Mamoswine's face that was continuously being bitten by Umbreon.

Seeing how close their trusted trainer was close to harm, Magmar and the Outraged Dragonite rushed toward the Mamoswine and unleashed their wrath upon it by their own choice of moves to use. Poliwrath pushed away Steelix and joined the gang up on the large tusked Pokémon.

Mamoswine dropped to the floor and fainted after having endured the brutal gang attack consisting of Karate Chops, biting, mauling, and fire spewing. Michael saw this and breathed a sigh of relief before he turned his attention to the Steelix still opposing his team in its enraged state.

With a point of his right finger and a shout, the Steelix was overwhelmed by Poliwrath's Hydro Pump, Magmar's Flamethrower, Umbreon's Bite, and Dragonite's last use of its Outrage attack before becoming confused from fatigue. Steelix roared an echoing roar before falling to the ground with every segment of its body coming to a standstill.

Michael's team was victorious!

All EXP was awarded to those who earned it.

No Prize Money was awarded as the P*DAs of neither team of trainers were able to connect to recognize the victor of the battle. The Peons already fled into the metal corridor.

Lugia was restored back to full health with Michael's crushed Max Revive. It stood back up to see its trusted savior and his fellow Pokémon safe. The Diving Pokémon casted it's gaze on the four Pokémon whose types were super effective against his own. He growled with a scowl towards the fainted Pokémon that threatened Michael's safety and kicked one of the fainted Mightyena's over on to its other side.

From the now-functioning warp panel, Jovi was able to teleport into the chamber through the orange light it emitted. She immediately saw the remnants of the battle that took place and her brother's Pokémon all sent out at once. She then spotted him beside his Lugia near one of the beaten Mamoswines and ran for him as she called his name.

"Michael! What happened?!", she asked running towards him around his Pokémon.

"A battle happened! Don't worry, I'll explain what happened later. We have to keep going! That looks like Cipher's base of operations here. We need to find Duking if he's still in there.", he explained as he began returning most of his Pokémon, including Lugia. Umbreon and Magmar were kept outside.

"These Pokémon attacked you? I guess they weren't much of a challenge huh?", Jovi assumed with a smile as she turned to him.

Michael shrugged and smiled back with a nod and as he answered…

"Wellll…. Let's just say they're learning. I think Cipher knows me well enough now with these new tactics they're coming up heheh!", he chuckled.

Suddenly the warp panel was activated again. They turned around to see Michael's Ariados walking out of the orange light with two Spinaraks clinging on her back. The two little green arachnid Pokémon hopped off of her back on to the rocky ground and skittered around the ground scouting the chamber with curiosity, poking at the fainted Mightyenas, Mamoswines, and the Steelix on the floor. The warp panel started working again, teleporting a single Spinarak before teleporting another Spinarak into the room as soon as the previous one skittered off following Ariados.

"Ariados? You're bringing all of the Spinarak through the teleporter?", he asked his Long Leg Pokémon who responded with clicks and a shake of her head.

"It sure looks like it. They all want to help us take down Cipher!", Jovi added confirming their army is ready to battle.

In a moment, the party and the army was ready to move into the metal corridor. Not all of the Spinarak were regrouped into the chamber as some were still teleporting in, but now was a good a time as any to begin the raid. Michael led with his Umbreon and Magmar out and Jovi stayed behind him with Mimi and Pluplu on her shoulders.

"Let's go!", the red headed teen shouted as he lead the charge.

The team ran into the metal corridor with the first doorway they approached on the wall they ran beside coming into view. They ran inside and discovered a single Classic Peon that was taken by surprise in the room that appeared to be a storage room full of shelves of Pokémon food.

"You! You're not gonna get away with this!", the Peon said sending out a Mightyena, Pidgeotto, and Vibrava in the enclosed battle field.

Magmar, Umbreon, Mimi, Pluplu, Ariados, and the Spinarak horde immediately swarmed and bested the opposition, forcing a quick blink out of the room by the unnamed Peon that could not be identified in the unofficially formatted battle.

In the room was an automatic sliding door. Michael approached and opened it to see what was inside. Rows of cages lined the edges of the wide spaced room with various tiles inside. There was a Standard Peon inside looking his way from the other side of the room.

The team and the army stormed inside to discover the empty Pokemon cages that lined the walls. The Peon that opposed them waved his arms with a laugh.

"Hahaha! You're in for it now!", he said sending out a Mamoswine and Crobat, accompanied by the automated defensive system that hid underneath the tiles.

Five tiles arranged three feet from each other flipped over to reveal Missle Turrets firing on Michael's team as.

This took Michael and Jovi by surprise, but the Pokémon that accompanied by them rushed forward. The missiles landed on the Spinaraks in groups, but Magmar, Umbreon, and Michael's recently sent out Dragonite to counter the opposition rushed forward in the smoke to engage Mamoswine and Crobat as Ariados lead the rest of the Spinarak forward to surround the turrets.

Mamoswine gored and swung its ice encrusted tusks as Crobat flung Sludge Bomb attacks, but the damage was absorbed by Umbreon's toughness before Magmar unleased a stream of flames on Mamoswine and Dragonite taking down Crobat with it's furious Dragon Claw attack.

The Missle Turrets kept firing but the Pin Missle attacks from the swarm of Spinaraks broke the defensive shells of the missiles and exploded, leaving the tile space with the broken wires that were once put to use. As soon as the turrets were destroyed, Mamoswine and Crobat were overwhelmed with String Shot attacks and Bug Bite attacks from all directions. They fell to the ground and fainted under the combined damage.

Michael and company were victorious against the Peon and the room's automated defense.

The Peon stood shivering in his armor as he raised his arms out over his head.

"W-What?! How is this possible?! Whatever, Ein will set you straight.", he said before blinking out of the installation with his returned Pokémon.

The ted headed teen looked back at the battle that just took place and laughed. Jovi questioned why her big brother was laughing. He responded.

"This is a totally different kind of Pokémon battle I've never experienced before. We just completely destroyed those five weird turrets and the Peon's Pokémon. We're unstoppable!", proclaimed Michael with a grin.

"But we can't let up now. We have to keep going and flood into the other rooms. We need to find Duking and any prisoners we can find. There doesn't seem to be any imprisoned Pokémon here, so let's keep going!", stated Michael, returning his Pokémon to make traversing through the crowded room back to the door.

Jovi took a look around the room before joining her brother. In the corner of the room there was a single purple item box. She kicked it open and discovered a dish of Duking's Poke Snack cakes. Just as she revealed it, three of the nine Spinaraks following Michael out of the door turned and clicked their mandibles before beginning to approach her as she held the Poke Snacks in her hands.

"Were they feeding their caged Pokémon Poke Snacks in this room? I guess that's pretty nice of them to do. I hope they were fed enough though.", she said as Mimi and Pluplu on her shoulders started reaching for the yellow cake slices.

"Oh? Are you two hungry? Here!", she offered her Pokémon the snacks before she heard the clicking and high pitched chirping of the three Spinarak behind her.

"Huh?"

She turned around to see three little Spinaraks looking up at her with their black eyes wide and mandibles closing into each other and opening repeatedly.

"You're also hungry? Well there's plenty enough for all of you to eat too.", Jovi said setting down the dish of Poke Snacks to see her Plusle, Minun, and the three Spinaraks rush at it eating chunks by the mouthful.

Looking at the Pokemon dine happily on the snacks, she realized she hasn't even had her breakfast yet. Suddenly her stomach growled upon this realization. Michael looked entered back into the room after realizing she wasn't following the swarm out the door.

"Aren't you coming? Jovi? …. Oh.", Michael discovered why she stayed behind.

"They're hungry! And I just realized, we haven't eaten anything since we woke up either!", exclaimed Jovi as she crouched down to see the Pokémon enjoying their food.

Following Michael back into, Ariados accidentally introduced the rest of the swarm to what the three Spinaraks were eating. The sound of clicks and skittering filled the room as the arachnid Pokemon climbed over the remains of the missile turrets and swarmed the plate of Poke Snacks, consuming it in half a second and leaving Mimi and Pluplu feeling cheated out of their meal as well as the rest of the Spinarak who didn't get to have their fill.

"Oh geez… you're right. But I think the stuff in the next room have more Pokémon Food for them at least. Do you think maybe we'll find a kitchen around here to raid ourselves? Haha!", Michael said offering a legitimate solution to his and her hunger.

"Oh that is an idea! Let's go big bro! And let's get these little guys some food."

In the next room, the various crates and cardboard boxes that lined the shelves were pried open with the Spinaraks consuming what were inside. Mimi and Pluplu were satisfied as well as Jovi's Litwick. Michael's Umbreon had trouble keeping food to himself from the swarm that kept stealing out of his crate until Magmar joined the feast and kept the bug type Pokemon away with its Flame Body ability. Joining them was his Dragonite and Poliwrath while Ariados ate with the rest of its kind digging into boxes of food pellets and cans of meat.

After the army's stomachs were suppressed of hunger, the team was ready to move out again despite the slight hunger the two trainers were experiencing on their own. Michael and his sister returned their Pokémon and led the party out the Pokémon food storage room, leaving a mess in their departure.

Into the metal corridor, the team continued to move forward. The corridor grew wider until they came upon a lobby. Michael and Jovi stood unable to comprehend what they were seeing in the center of the lobby. It appeared to be a marvel of Cipher's technological know-how.

The machine was an elevated circular stage reached by two curving ramps that surrounded it. Two arches arched together on the furthest end of the circular platform, making an empty gateway passable by anyone who approaches it. In front of the machine where they stood, they found a console. Michael approached it as the Spinarak crawled all over it with Ariados's guidance.

Michael examined what was on the machine's console.

"'Cipher Warp Station: Status: 100% Durability, 50% Energized. Reinforcements available. See division listings for available reinforcements. Recall Function to home base not available. Specimen Link not established….' What is all of this?!", Michael expressed his confusion.

"It looks like it needs an Admin's permission to connect to their HQ Lab… a sort of key card I think…"

"Warp Station? Is this like some sort of advanced warp panel?", Jovi asked her brother in which he could only shake his head in confusion.

"Wow, this is like that one episode in Pokémon Trozei. Where Lucy Fleet Foot discovers the Phobos Battalion's secret network of connections to cells in other regions! This machine is something important isn't it?", she continued as she looked at the screen with her brother.

He swiped the screen to look into the Reinforcements Listings. On the screen displayed various divisions of Neo Cipher's forces. The Delta Division lead by Dakim, the Epsilon Division lead by Ein, the Omicron Division lead by Venus, and the Alpha Division lead by Nascour. Three more divisions are listed with their admin names redacted from the description. These include a Beta Division, a Psi Division, and an Omega Division. Only Ein and Venus's Divisions were selectable in the list with the others dimmed and unselectable.

Michael opened Ein's list and discovered the three types of Peons he has under his rule. The Standard Peon, the Engineer Pawn, and the R&D Scientist were available to call in, but each had their own energy cost to the machine's battery as brief explanation of their purpose.

He then opened Venus's Division list and discovered the Peons she had under her control. Her composition consisted of Classic Peons, Standard Peons, and Specter Peons. They also had their own energy cost to call in through the machine's warp panel.

Michael selected a general purpose Standard Peon. The console then revealed a window asking to confirm the request for the single unit of reinforcements. The request would cost twenty five percent power from the Warp Station's battery.

"So this is how they bring in more Peons to this place?", he asked as he could see his Ariados watching over the Spinaraks spitting webs of string over the arched gateway.

"This is so different from what I remember Cipher used to be. These aren't just a bunch of fanatics for Greevil's Shadow Pokémon plan or some thugs organized into a private company, they're a sophisticated crime group using technology that's either stolen or never used by the old Cipher. And now they have this teleportation technology as well… I guess Seth wasn't kidding when he said to be prepared for anything."

"You mean they never had teleportation technology before?", the novice blue haired trainer questioned as she tapped on the machine's steel plating.

"They had holographic fake floors and floating kinetic platforms, but never teleportation technology of any kind… well as far as I know anyway. Peons always disappeared when I beat them in the old days, but I always assumed they just ran away really fast or something. I guess now I know they use some sort of teleportation device to escape when they're out of Pokémon to use or if they just need to get out of a situation… who knows? Maybe we could ask Seth later…. Speaking of which, I wonder how they're doing?"

Michael checked his inbox. He found two messages that were sent twenty minutes ago, nearly around the time of the epic battle between the Peon and the accompanying Missile Turret Traps in the caged Pokémon Room. He couldn't hear the P*DA's ring tones in the chaos of the battle.

The first message was from Eagun titled, "Seth is your friend?"

"This Seth person doesn't really appeal to me or Beluh. He doesn't like to look me in the eye when I talk to him. But he's convinced us to go with your plan to hold our ground at Gateon Port. Senilor and the others have already packed up and are on their way."

The second message was from Seth, titled "Gateon Port Secured."

"The Agate Caravan has arrived in Gateon Port, and I've ensured no remnants of Cipher's presence remain in any of Gateon Port's buildings. The town is safe for more refugees if you can name them."

Michael sent his responses. He told Eagun not to worry about Seth, and told Seth to head towards the Realgam Tower to retrieve anyone left behind on his way to Pyrite Town. He will help escort the remaining citizens to Gateon Port. Michael's plan will be to get Lily, Professor Krane, and everyone left in the HQ Lab to Kaminko's Manor to escort the doctor and his aide to Gateon Port. All the while he will haul the Robo Kyogre to Gateon Port on their way.

"Alright. That settles that.", he said closing his P*DA.

Michael turned his attention back to the console as Jovi waited patiently for his next course of action. He realized that if he really wanted to, he could call one of the units ready in Ein's and Venus's divisions, although he would likely battle them immediately or see them escape back to whatever place they came from. He decided not to call for another unnecessary battle and returned his attention to finding Duking, and a kitchen with food is there is one around here.

"To that door! Let's move out!"

Michael led the party to the automatic door and stepped inside, discovering what looked like a small classroom with rows of tables arranged with chairs. There were no signs of life inside. Class was most definitely not in session in the metallic tutoring room.

Tables and chairs were left alone. A few pencils and notebooks were left behind on the surfaces of the tables. Michael drew his eyes from them and noticed the electronic whiteboard board on the wall. It was left powered on and displayed the last message the instructor left.

"In the end always remember, Serve Cipher without question, Preserve the Memory, all other priorities come secondary to our victory. His dream is our guide to that victory...", read the board.

Michael saw that this last note was displayed on a slideshow. The slideshow had ended before the teacher could turn off the computer. The red headed teen searched the desk to discover the PC still on and displaying the same screen on the board. He began examining the contents of the slideshow before the Spinaraks occupying classroom floor and walls suddenly began skittering and shrieking towards the door. From the door came a voice.

"Hey! What is the meaning of this?! Get out of my classroom!", boomed the voice of a disgruntled man.

Following the demand, several Spinaraks were observed running back into the classroom on fire. Ariados hissed directions at her swarm as her trainer approached the situation to see what the matter was.

An R&D Scientist was setting the Spinaraks on fire with the combined attacks from his Wheezing and Growlithe. Wheezing spewed gas across the swarm and Growlithe ignited it, putting several defending String Spit Pokémon on fire and scattering them across the floor. Michael sent forth Poliwrath and Dragonite to oppose him.

Dragonite mauled Wheezing with an Outrage attack and Poliwrath blasted Grolithe with a direct Hydro Pump attack. R&D Scientist Dubik didn't stand a chance with the two Pokémon he was provided with. He was forced to recall his two Pokémon and pay 500 Poke Dollars in prize money from his account in his P*DA.

"You will pay for this!", Dubik said before attempting to run toward the Warp Station's console.

"Hold it!", Michael called before Ariados reacted and gave chase, causing all of the Spinaraks to shoot their sticky string at the scientist to ensnare him.

Dubik fell with a thud with his shades popped off of his face on to the metal floor. He struggled to break free but the Spinaraks had already trapped him in a hanging cocoon with only his head popping out. He swung back and forth from the ceiling.

"H-Hey! Let me down from here!", he demanded.

Michael and his sister approached the enemy scientist. Jovi watched as his brother interrogated the agent.

"You are going to tell me what is going on here! You will tell me where you're keeping Duking and the others, and you will tell me where your kitchen is!", Michael stated with a stern tone.

"I'm not telling you anything!", Dubik defended himself.

"Are you sure? I'm more than happy to just let you lay down on the floor, but if we keep you hanging like that you're going to pass out with all that blood rushing to your head. So how about it sir? Tell me!", Michael demanded again as his Ariados pushed the cocooned man into a swinging motion.

"N-No! Urrghh…. The prisoners are at our mother base…. You will not find them here", Dubik disclosed some information.

"Talk!", Michael interrogated him further as Ariados kept swinging him.

"Aaaah! But your friend is still around here! H-He's in our kitchen beside the mess hall down the corridors into Sector 3! My head, stop!", the scientist begged.

Michael motioned Ariados to cut the web attaching the researcher to the ceiling. The Spinaraks bit the cord and dropped the man on to the floor. He lay on his face after feeling the pain of being dropped from the thankfully low ceiling.

"Better?", the red headed teen asked the man.

Muffled grunts emanated from the face-down professor.

"Ariados, send some Spinaraks to hide this guy in the Pokémon cage room."

In a moment, the struggling scientist was carried on the backs of ten scurrying Spinaraks. Michael stood satisfied with the information he extracted from the situation he took advantage of. Jovi was amazed to see this act of interrogation he has never seen her brother do before.

"Wow big bro. I think you did that too well, haha!", Jovi exclaimed.

"… You know I think you're right little sis. Sometimes I scare myself a little how far we've come since Krane's kidnapping long ago. But whatever! We now know where Duking is being held… and their kitchen too.", admitted Michael with a grin.

"But first, let me check the rest of that presentation…"

When Michael approached the teacher's desk again, he began examining the entirety of the presentation. It had five slides with an assembly of strange subjects and topics.

Slide 1: Your New Purpose.

"You are here to follow the orders of your superiors. You are protected under Cipher, but it is your job to help the syndicate as a whole advance in its goals. Our master's will is our will. And under his leadership, safety is ensured for all of Cipher's agents. Your reassigned purpose in Cipher is essential to finding your place in our new world."

Slide 2: Confrontations.

"Understand the importance of winning every battle. Your Pokémon are what keep you safe and further our goals. Failure to win is punishable by further training and discipline after being teleported to your home beacon in defeat."

Slide 3: Confronting the enemy.

"It is well known Cipher's number one enemy, Michael, is still guarding the Orre Region after Cipher's fall four years ago. If spotted, contact HQ immediately and do not engage unless back up has been provided. Failure to stop him will not result in punishment, but further training will be required."

Slide 4: Securing Pyrite Town.

"Our connection inside the town has already reached an agreement with Evice. Soon Pyrite Town will be emptied with its denizens transported safely out of the region. Be prepared to seize any possible stragglers and take control of the settlement when we move out."

"An inside connection?", Michael observed and suddenly feared the implication of a traitor in their midst.

"What does that mean?", Jovi asked.

"Someone in the town is part of Neo Cipher…. Someone we know is in cahoots with Cipher… I better message Ostix."

After Michael sent his message on his P*DA they waited. Michael began fearing the likely outcome before his P*DA rang it's familiar tone. Ostix had answered.

"We don't know anyone who could be working with Cipher. Everyone here says they're clean. We're holding out in the Shop. We have our windows and doors blocked with everything we have. We're starting to hear voices outside though; some of us are getting really nervous. Please hurry back!", read Ostix's reply.

After Michael put away his P*DA, he closed out of the presentation on the computer to see other files. Looking in the shared installation drive, Michael found countless documents with different numbers and letters to code them. He picked at a few randomly and found nothing of interest until he found a list of documents that aren't codenamed but locked with passwords.

He took back out his P*DA and accessed his hacking tool. The connection was made and Michael carefully disarmed the security system to reveal the passcode in the complicated process.

Instead of taking the time to read them all, Michael transferred few files to his P*DA via his hacking tool in his device. Four documents of data were transferred to his inbox. They were all files signed by Ein, the science and technology administrator.

"Cipher truly is different this time…. We better get moving.", Michael concluded, leading his sister, their Pokémon and the Spinarak swarm into the metal halls of the base.

Advancing downward with the many small legs follow them, the siblings found the base's resistance was unexpectedly low. No one stood in their way even with the red warning lights flashing on the walls. They passed by countless doors but none of them appeared to lead to the mess hall.

"Hold it!", Michael said out loud to the team.

Jovi, his Ariados, and the legion of Spinaraks stopped in their tracks. They came to a fork in the road where a single computer console sat in the center between the two halls. Michael approached it and accessed what it displayed.

"This console says Sector 3 and 4 are ahead… wait, what's this? … Uh…"

Suddenly the screen displayed a request for a password with a countdown down to zero from ten. Michael hesitated at what he was seeing and panicked for a moment before drawing out his P*DA to quickly access his hacking tool as Jovi and the many arachnids that surrounded them hesitated in their panic. The red headed teen connected to the machine and discovered the time limit in his hacking sequence was too small.

"Oh gosh I have to do this quickly. Just arrange this here and find this… no… no this is one is too fast! Wait!", he shouted.

"UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY DETECTED!", a mechanical voice boomed throughout the facility.

Spinaraks dropped from the ceiling they crawled on in their surprise as out revealed from the ceiling tiles were more automated defenses. Two Tesla coils revealed themselves in the ceiling began wreaking havoc on the arachnids as gates were raised, trapping the siblings and their swarm.

The Tesla Coils sparked and zapped chains of Spinaraks in a row. Jovi ran by her brother's side for safety as she watched Michael's Ariados tear into the machines.

"Ariados! Bring them down quickly!", Michael said covering himself and her sister from the sparks.

In two volleys of Pin Missles from the regrouped Spinaraks, the pin cushioned Tesla Coils exploded. The danger was gone but the gates were still raised. The red headed leader felt the gates for a way through.

"How do we get past these?", Jovi asked.

Michael sent back out his Magmar and his Poliwrath. A combined Flamethrower and Hydro Pump attack weakened the gate as the Spinaraks needled it with Pin Missle attacks. The gate to sector three was torn down and reduced to rubble. Without haste, Michael lead the force deeper into the labyrinth.

Blocking their path ahead to sector three was a female Standard Peon waiting with a grin under the shaded visor of her helmet.

"Prepare yourself for a proper thrashing!", a Standard Peon in the distance warned as he sent out a strange new Pokémon no one has seen before.

It stood appearing to be partially made of fire and resembling Magmar slightly. Upon further inspections with their upgraded Strategy Memo scanners from Seth, it was identified as Magmar's hidden evolution, Magmortar.

Magmortar charged towards the invading force. The Spinaraks behind Michael jumped forward after the Blast Pokémon. Michael raised his hand toward his Ariados seeing the imminent disaster.

"Wait! Don't!", he shouted, but it was too late.

In groups, the Spinaraks were flipped on to their backs as they were consumed by the streams of fire spewing out of both of the Pokémon's arms. Michael stood speechless at how quickly the strange new Pokémon destroyed his army. Ariados retreated to her master and fell flat to his feet with burn marks on her abdomen. The single Magmortar decimated the entire horde, leaving fainted little arachnid Pokémon littering the hall.

"Magmar, Poliwrath! Thunder Punch and Hydro Pump!", Michael issued his commands before he tended to his Ariados's need of medical attention.

Magmortar shot a huge orange energy ball from one of its flaming arm cannons and stopped Magmar in his tracks before Poliwrath's Hydro Pump attack landed on the enemy Pokémon. Water splashed in all directions as the foe's fire-embodied Pokémon fell with a thud and was returned to its ball.

"You haven't bested me yet! We'll have our chance!", the female Standard Peon warned before running away with her Pokémon.

Michael looked away from the Peon's direction to see the casualties of this conflict. Only three Spinarak barely stood as the others were blackened and fainted on the floor. Jovi crouched and petted one on the floor.

"Ariados, tell them to head back to the nest. They were good help, but we'll take care of it from now on.", he said to her.

The few Spinaraks able to move slowly dragged their way back down the hall, ragging fainted Spinarks by a net of webs. After slow skittering and crawls across the floor, the horde of defeated Spinaraks disappeared back the way they came. Presumably they made it to the warp panel outside the base and continued on their trail.

Ariados turned to her trainer and silently awaited his next course of action as she emitted a low purring noise from her mandibles. Michael returned Ariados, Magmar, and Poliwrath to their balls to be ready for further confrontations with a more manageable force.

"Looks like we won't have their backup anymore, so let's be extra careful from now on.", suggested Michael leading onward with Jovi by his side.

Past where the female Peon stood, the siblings found a room at the end of the corridor that held a larger variant of the warp panel than the one back in the mines. Michael held his Lugia's Poke Ball ready for another battle when he stepped on to it. Although he told his sister to stay just in case, Jovi ignored him and joined in him phasing out and into existence in a different section of the base.

They stood behind a large glass gate that split itself open as soon as they were able to move. Looking where they are, the panel seems to have put them in a mess hall. Rows of several tables line the walls towards each other. Looking to their right, the giant metallic room leads into another hallway. To their left was a kitchen with a long serving window across the wall. Inside they could see a big burly man facing away from them towards an assortment of kitchen appliances inside. He wore a white apron, T-Shirt, and brown pants.

Michael stepped towards the kitchen as Jovi followed behind him. On the walls over the tables he could see posters directed towards the personnel that came to eat here. He read a few…

"Do Not Waste Food. Wasting Food is Wasting Potential Energy.", stated one poster showing a well-details illustration of a Standard Peon with his helmet off revealing a young brown spiky haired teenage boy sharing a piece of a sandwich with his Skarmory on a rocky side of a hill.

"Give thanks to our providers.", stated another poster showing a picture of a fisherman on a boat in the middle of an ocean with a misty horizon.

"Eat well, Work Well, Sleep Well.", a third poster stated showing three pictures, the first of a Cipher Peon eating soup with his Machoke slurping soup beside him, the second showing the same Peon battling a trainer with his Machoke, and the third showing the unarmored Peon in his black suit and blonde hair sleeping in a sleeping bag with his Machoke sleeping in a Poke Ball in his utility belt strewn about near his pillow.

Michael's awe with the posters was interrupted by the sound of the chef yelling to himself in his kitchen.

"What am I supposed to do with these Nomel Berries?! Burn someone's house down with them?! Useless!", a familiar gruff voice echoed from the foe's kitchen.

"Duking?", Michael called out to the man.

"Michael? Is that you lad?! Oh thank goodness!", Duking expressed his relief the moment he turned around to see who it was calling his name.

"Michael! Jovi! You two came to rescue me?", he asked them as they approached.

"That's right!", Jovi answered before Michael could.

"What happened? How did you get here and why are you in the kitchen and will you please give us something to eat?", Michael unleashed his barrage of questions Duking was happy to answer.

Duking slid two bowls of sweet yellow curry with rice to the two starving breakfast-less trainers. Their mouths watered before they held their spoons and devoured what was presented in front of them. Michael and Jovi happily ate as they listened to Duking's story.

"This morning I woke up to discover the ONBS building was in a lockdown. Nett and the others weren't answering my messages. The only way anyone could reach the building was through the old underground tunnels Miror B. used as his old hideout. Me having dug a portion of the mines myself, I knew that there were plans to connect Pyrite Colosseum with the surfaced coal mining caverns. I used Flygon to dig down, but I was captured when stepped down the stairs into the old sewers. But I tell you I didn't go down without a fight!", Duking assured.

"I fought as hard as I could, but I lost to a horde of Spinaraks lead by one of their thugs. They captured me and took away all of my Pokémon..."

A look of sympathy came from the siblings as they paused for a moment in their consumption. Duking motioned them to continue eating as he continued speaking.

"They brought me to that warp station up above and were about to teleport me to their headquarters before they suddenly had a change of plans and decided to put me in the kitchen. They told me to make food for their grunts and I'll get my Pokémon back… but all I could make between then and now was this curry. These ingredients they left me don't do me any favors. In fact nobody has bothered to check on my progress either. You two are the first to try my curry in this kitchen!", he said to them.

"Do I get your approval?"

Michael raised a thumb up as Jovi raised both of her thumbs up with their mouths full. The bowls have been emptied and the siblings are no longer starving in their adventure. Duking took their bowls and gave them both two plastic water bottles.

"Good, cause now I'd like to get my Pokémon back and find my daughter! And I bet we can find her by getting to their headquarters with that warp station! Let's get going Michael!", Duking urged him showing how eager he was to escape with his family.

"Right! Right but the station doesn't have a connection to the HQ at the moment. I'm not sure what it would take to get that connection…", Michael answered acknowledging his request.

"Ein! That scoundrel! He oughta know how to use it! He's still around here. Somewhere I know there is an area where he likes to test equipment and such. I overheard one of the Peons bringing me here say something about it. But where?", Duking asked with uncertainty.

"Ein?... I wonder if those files I downloaded would help us here…", Michael wondered before he proceeded to open his P*DA to his inbox and skim through some of the documents.

Ein Neo File #5: The Method.

"My unlikely savior has presented me this useful and curious insight as to how he managed to unite the majority of the old syndicate's settlers. Curiously enough its behavior reminded me of a brief problem that happened in the desert lab just before Cipher's hold on Orre was destroyed.

I knew Skrub's stories of windows appearing out of thin air and disappearing in an instant with some of our equipment sounded as if he had been out in the desert for too long, but Venus discovered it and tried to inform me of it before she was driven away by the authorities.

The Deep Colosseum did not offer any forgiveness for our mistakes, if anything it reminded us of a power we failed to control. The foreign lands were most unforgiving with their prejudices against our purposeless existence. But now he has taken us under his leadership. And we will all be given a new purpose again."

Ein Neo File #6: My New Purpose.

"I have been given an interesting assignment. In our master's campaign, he has assigned me to be head of the science and technology division of Cipher as I usually have during the first campaign. But this time, along with the future study of Shadow Pokémon, he wants me to invent new technology for new variants of foot soldiers and special operatives.

I did not have much to work with, but he assured that I will get help with the power he has inherited. In time, he provided me enough technology and insight from major companies in Kanto and Hoenn that I've developed our own Invisible Scope Technology and Warp Panels.

Through further research on specific Pokémon, I invented the Specter Peon Class from the knowledge of a Kecleon's biology along with the light refracting abilities of a rare Pokémon a former Cipher elite used to be familiar with. I do not know how Nascour or Evice would have reacted to these new developments during the first era, but our master was overjoyed to see the progress I made in strengthening his reclaimed army.

There is still much I hope to create however. In time I hope to contribute even more to our new plan to take back the world we lost."

Michael was intrigued and left curious by this particular document. Jovi looked at her brother's expression and looked back at his P*DA to see what he was reading. Duking stood waiting as he tapped his foot on the floor impatiently. Michael found a document titled something that seemed most relevant and read it.

Ein Neo File #17: Pyrite Project 2.

"Through Evice's deal with the boy, we were granted safe passage to build a base of operations under Pyrite Town.

Some of our operatives are yearning to return home to the surface, but they do not understand that there is nothing left for them to return to. That is the reason why we are here after all, although I am not in favor of how long it is taking for our master to proceed with his plans, I'm afraid this operation will have to take longer than it will need to be when we could have easily taken everyone already.

In the meantime however, Evice, Nascour, Dakim and Venus have been productive in their efforts securing the old equipment and major sites of old Cipher's control. As for me, I've taken up the time to construct a Warp Station based on our Warp Panel technology.

I've worked on its design for many months now. When we first asserted our control over the Chroma Ruins there was a need for long distance transportation between the home base and the field base. Now that the first prototype is working here in Orre, I hope to see the possibility of mass producing this machine for future missions where reinforcements and quick transportation between two places at once are a priority. Although it would be fortunate to have our leader help in that department with his creature, I understand his reasoning to have me construct an alternative method.

I will be within my laboratories in sector five as I usually am. At the moment I'm finishing the final designs for an automated defensive system consisting of short ranged miniature missile turrets and sparking weaponized tile tesla coils… and maybe a flamethrower if I can ensure no one will accidentally trigger its functions."

Michael closed his P*DA with the new insight he gained. He was left with many questions over what he had just read.

"A… deal?... with the boy?... who is this boy?", Michael asked out loud.

"What does this mean?", Jovi asked her big brother.

"It means there really is a traitor among us….", Michael exclaimed, immediately triggering an agitated response from the surprised former captor.

"WHAT?! It must have been Bitt wasn't it?! I knew he acted so suspicious! He hadn't acted normal since that day the tremors came and disappeared! He played us all like a darn fiddle!", Duking expressed his pain of betrayal.

"Now hold on. We don't know anything for sure. We can't just throw an accusation like that without some solid evidence.", Michael adviced Duking not to beside himself with anger yet.

"Do you understand what is happening here?! They've been waiting underground just out of our sight taking us one by one! Waiting! Bitt sent my daughter with that crew to Agate Village to get captured by their goons! THAT IS WHY HE LOOKED SO GUILTY! HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING! ", Duking shouted vending all of his rage into his vocalization, making Jovi a little nervous and unsettled by the brute force of his yell.

"Calm down! It's not like anyone has kicked the bucket or anything! If you want to vent your anger, take it out on Cipher when we move out and find Ein! But first we'll have to find your Pokémon.", Michael explained before Duking reacted with a gesture.

"I'm going to find my Pokemon NOW! You will follow me! Sector 4 is ahead and I'm getting my family back today!", the burly man stated before rushing off towards the entrance of the metal hallway like an enraged Ursaring.

Michael and Jovi watched him toss aside tables and chairs on his way to the hall. The siblings gave each other a look and rushed forward to follow him down the metallic hall after him. They could see Duking running ahead of them with great vigor and determination. As they ran after him, a Neo Cipher Standard Peon appeared around the corner of the hall and saw the man running at him.

"H-HEY! WHAT THE-", the Peon yelped before being grabbed by the neck and swung against the wall.

"You are going to tell me right now. WHERE ARE MY POKEMON?!", Duking demanded with his hand over the Peon's neck against the wall.

He choked and coughed before a light enveloped him from his suit and instantly made him blink out of existence back to his warp point. Duking did not get the information he needed as he realized he could never capture a Peon to interrogate himself.

"Grrrggh! They won't get away with this!", he said to himself as he rushed forward in his rage with his two followers trying to catch up.

Michael and Jovi could see they were beginning to enter a hallway lined with electronics and unattended consoles. Wires hanged from the ceiling and exposed floor tiles show unfinished miniature missile turrets and tesla coils surfacing through the floor. They were not operational which relieved the two siblings as Duking was already way ahead of them.

Duking approached a three way fork in the road. A holographic display of the map in the center of the steel path showed the conscripted Pokémon hold was to their left. Duking shot forward in that direction and urged Michael to follow him, but before he could he saw the holographic map blink. Now it displayed the storage room straight ahead rather than their left path.

"… Wait, Duking!", the red headed teen called his attention.

When Duking returned to meet with them despite his impatience, the three could see what their predicament was. The map consistently blinks and changes the rooms displayed ahead. The Conscript Pokémon Storage, a dorm room, and a Special Storage room were all switching places with each other on the map every ten seconds.

"Is this thing bugged?", Duking asked.

"I don't know... it's probably just a glitch. But just to make sure, we're going to investigate these rooms together.", Michael declared the plan to approach this situation.

"Alright, let's get started then! Go ahead!", Duking urged Michael to take point.

The red headed teen walked down the left most path they encountered first and reached an automatic gateway with a console. Michael examined the console beside the metal doors. On it, it read "Room #1".

Michael approached the door with his sister behind him and the buff mustached man behind them to see what was ahead. It revealed a storage room with trays of various ancient artifacts and strange items strewn about. Sitting on a drink cooler the corner of the room was a Standard Peon with his helmet off looking at a peculiar orange glistening stone in his hands.

Duking didn't hesitate to charge forward and attempt to capture the enemy, but Michael stopped him and tried to take a more passive approach to the foe. The Peon looked at them with his brown eyes under his black shaved hair. He hesitated to move as he spoke.

"… I suppose I should be doing something to stop you guys huh?", he said.

"Tell us where you've taken Duking's Pokémon and all the prisoners!", Michael demanded as he walked towards him.

"Kid, you know I can't tell you… but without resorting to starting battle I know I can't win, I'll let you in on a few secrets of this foundation if you'd like. This room isn't monitored so we're all safe from this base's security monitors.", the Peon offered a deal.

"You're joking! You'll share secrets but not spill the beans about the people and Pokémon you've taken?!", Duking exclaimed in shock.

"Do you accept? Or I could just join the rest of my brothers and sisters happy in their sanctuaries at our true base of operations right now… what do you say?"

"Fine.", Michael agreed giving him an evil eye.

"Good. First, let me give you this secret.", the Peon said tossing the orange orb he held in his hand at him.

Michael caught it with his right free hand and held it up. The Peon answered the questions Michael was about to think of as he stared into its strange properties.

"This is a Neo Evolution Key Stone. It enables Neo Evolution for a specific list of Pokémon at the expense of their health. It makes them powerful but the transformation between their final evolved form to their Neo-Evolved form is less than comfortable to say the least. Use it wisely and at your own risk, you'll have to discover what Pokémon can Neo Evolve yourself.", the Peon explained.

Jovi was in awe as she was handed the stone from her brother for her to look at. Inside she could see an orange universe of specks within a twister-like formation.

The thought of being able to Neo Evolve Pokémon like Seth was astounding to Michael. He could never imagine having the power to change his already powerful Pokémon into something more powerful even with the cost it brings. Jovi gave Michael back the orange orb for him to gaze into for a moment. He then proceeded to put it in his left pant pocket and continued consulting the Peon as Duking fumed steam out of his nostrils in his impatience.

"Although I shouldn't tell you this, I'll tell you anyway. This base was built to continue mining something important deep underground. It probably ties to Shadow Pokémon, but deep underground along the way we found relics and evidence of a civilization long forgotten. This room holds an amount of excavated treasures as well as important complicated items we acquired ourselves.", the enemy explained, provoking g the crew to look around themselves to see shattered vases, broken shields, spear heads and carved marble.

"An… Ancient civilization?", Michael asked as he was intrigued catching Duking's attention.

"You mean the civilization that left the Orre Colosseum?", Duking added his question as he is only barely familiar with Orre's ancient history.

"We have been excavating remains of an ancient civilization and preserving what we have found in rooms like this in our bases. I would tell you why if I knew it. My guess is the higher ups just want to preserve as much of anything Orre-made as they can…", the Peon explained.

"Preservation? Like how you're 'preserving' my daughter in whatever prison you've taken her to?!", Duking snapped his familiar temper.

"I didn't have anything to do with the attack on the camera crew…. But if were to guess they're probably being held ab… on Citadark Isle… but that's just a guess.", the Peon answered.

"But conscripted Pokémon like yours are in a nearby room. You can reach it from the hall outside. Have at them before more of my friends come running with their Pokémon ready to battle you again, Michael.", the Peon continued with a strong suggestion.

"Who are you?", Michael requested his name.

"We've met before. My name is Rett. And that is about as much info I'm going to give to ya right now. Unless you pay me seventy thousand Poke Dollars for every question you want answered...", Rett said before putting his helmet on to cover his head and the expression of his eyes.

"Will you tell me why you joined Cipher again? What happened after I destroyed Cipher?", Michael asked with a serious tone.

The Peon was silent and shook his head for a moment.

"Even if you paid me double for those two questions, that's not for me to answer…. I think you should go now. My brethren are likely going to come here and try to stop you.", Rett replied.

"I'm leaving now. Good luck have fun.", Rett said before standing up and enveloped himself in a blue ball of light before disappearing instantaneously with Michael and company powerless to stop him. Duking wasn't too happy with this.

"He just disappeared! Right under our noses! Again!", Duking exclaimed his surprise and frustration.

"He recalled himself…. Why wouldn't he want to answer those questions in particular?", Michael questioned out loud.

"I don't know big bro, but I think we should probably hurry.", Jovi suggested.

Michael agreed with his sister. The three walked back out the door into the four-way crossing with the holographic map displayed in the center table again until they discovered they came back a different way than they left before.

They approached the same crossroads to realize all four paths leading away from the holographic map in the center looked the same. The path back to the cafeteria was lost and replaced with a path to another room. The three looked around seeing this before in one direction came a Standard Peon running at them from a door.

"Don't get lost!", taunted the voice of a male Cipher Peon accompanied by the pitter patter of their Pokémon.

"Or we'll have to take you in as another guest. Give them the works!"

The Standard Peon sent out a Skarmory, a Cacturne, and an Aggron to block their path.

Michael responded, sending out his Magmar, Poliwrath, and Ariados to oppose the Peon as Jovi and Duking watched the battle unfold. Before the battle began however, Michael took out the Neo Evolution Key Stone shone it's light over the battlefield to see what would happen.

He looked to see none of his Pokemon were effected, but then he saw the Cipher Peon act startled for some reason. When Michael turned to see the Peon's Aggron, he was surprised to see it was transforming right before eyes in a swift cocoon of light.

"What did you do to my Aggron?!", The Peon exclaimed as the Aggron finished it's Neo Evolution.

The Pokémon looked like a heavier evolved version of itself, but it also looked hurt upon finishing the accidentally forced transformation. As much of a surprise this was to Michael, it left him at an advantage so that he may finish off Aggron first.

After a quick clash, Cacturne, Skarmory, and the reverted Aggron were defeated and the Neo Cipher Peon named Silton was forced to return them to their balls in defeat. Prize money was automatically transacted to Michael's P*DA from Silton's P*DA.

"You may have won the battle, but you've already lost the war! I dare you to find the Command Center through this maze and see for yourself.", Silton taunted Michael one last time before blinking out of existence.

"It's not over yet! You goons are going to get yours!", Duking shouted out echoing through the halls.

"Command Center?... This base's command center is nearby?", Michael expressed his interest in the room.

"Who knows! We just have to get going! We need to find my Pokémon and get my daughter back!", Duking urged Michael to stay focused on his rescue mission.

"Right, right… if we can find your Pokémon around here we'll find a way to work the Warp Station to take us to their headquarters. Let's pick a path and go.", Michael responded, recalling his Pokémon and leading his sister and Duking to a room out of the four paths.

Entering through the metal gate, they entered the ancient artifact storage room again even though they left the room on the other side of the hall in the opposite direction. Everyone's eyes widened at the same time.

"Let's go another way….", Jovi suggested.

Everyone agreed, and turning about face they left with the metal gate having closed itself.

Upon reaching the center map crossroads and picked the path to their left, they approached another metal gate at the end of the hall that automatically opened itself to reveal the storage room again.

"This is ridiculous!", Duking exclaimed.

"Let's try another way then.", Michael said taking everyone back to select a path.

When looking at the map, they could see the rooms were constantly changing but in a different cut off map consisting of only the hall and the four red blinking rooms. Michael tapped on the map to see if he could interact with it in any way, but nothing happened.

"… Let's try this one more time… but let's go the way we came."

The group walked back the way they just came and opened the metal gate at the end of the hall. The gate revealed storage room but full racks of trays filled to the brim with Poke Balls. Duking immediately rushed in and started searching for his Pokémon recognizable by Michael's Great Balls and Ultra Balls he used to catch them for him. In a matter of minutes, Duking found and reclaimed his Flygon, Quagsire, and Masquerain.

"Now we'll be ready to fight Cipher again! Lead the way lad!", Duking requested his leadership to his goal now with the means to battle.

"Excellent! Let's keep moving on.", Michael issued their next course of action.

The trio walked back out with a much stronger presence against Cipher. Upon reaching the holographic map again, Michael elected that they should turn about face and try entering through the last gate again. Duking and Jovi weren't at any position to argue.

Upon entering through the gate again, the team discovered the room had changed to the artifact storage room. The gate behind them closed before it opened again to further reveal the map lobby now with the extended hallway that leads back to the cafeteria in view behind it.

"We're back where we started!", Jovi observed.

"Good! Now let's get to that Warp Station! We need to be there yesterday!", Duking demanded that Michael would up the pace from now on.

Michael and the others started sprinting around the map and run back down the hall. Though the thoughts of the command center echoed in his mind, he was forced to forget the option of exploring a little more to find the base of commands.

As they already were half way back to the cafeteria, a series of sounds reverberated inside the metal walls. The party slowed down in fear of what might be happening in their surroundings.

"… You hear something?", Duking questioned when the sound went silent for only ten seconds.

Suddenly a panel on the ceiling popped off right overhead to reveal a swarm of enraged Magnemite flying angrily in all directions.

"There's too many! Just keep running!", Michael shouted.

The Magnemites chased after them as they shot bolts of electricity down the halls. When they reached the cafeteria they scattered and bolted towards the group in a single wave. Michael rushed for the elevator button as he sent out Pokémon to hold off the attack.

"We need to wait for the elevator to come down! We need to fight!"

"I hear ya.", Duking confirmed before sending out his Flygon to tear into the swarm.

"Litwick! Go!", Jovi added her Fire and Ghost type to the defensive line.

Within the span of seconds, Magnemite rushed and formed piles of metal bodies as they fell to the wall of fire Magmar and Litwick created with their combined attacks as Flygon kicked up Sand Tomb attacks to draw bunches of Magnemite together for Magmar to finish off.

The swarm was relentless in their attacks however, their attacks shot in all directions and from the other side of the firing line a bolt of lightning struck Jovi. She shrieked and fell backwards with her arms out in shock.

"Jovi!", Michael called her name rushing to her side in fear for her health.

Litwick stopped using Flame Burst attacks into the swarm to look back and see his trainer on the floor. The enraged Magnemite charged through the opening in the wall of fire and electrocuted Litwick in an instant. Duking sent out his Quagsire to absorb the damage as Michael desperately tried to revive his sister.

"WAKE UP!", Michael pleaded before he witnessed Jovi gasping for air from her knockout.

"W-What happened?! Ow pins and needles in my hands!", Jovi expressed her painfully numb awakening.

The elevator has arrived. Michael helped his sister up as she returned her Litwick. Michael and Duking both returned their Pokémon to their balls as they slipped into the elevator's space and closed it immediately. As they rose the glass started to crack with the Magnemite swarm constantly colliding with it. The terrifying display of the hypnotized mass of Pokémon divided from them by a broken glass kept them fearing for their lives before the elevator safely ascended to the next floor.

"That was too close…", Duking exclaimed before looking at the siblings assessing the damage done to Jovi.

Jovi shook her hands and wiggled her fingers around as her expression showed her discomfort with the stinging sensation in her hands.

"This feels weird… will this go away?", Jovi asked her brother with concern as she continued shaking her hands.

"Are you alright? Is that all you're feeling?", Michael asked his sister with great concern.

"I'm fine! It's just my hands… That shock must have left my hands paralyzed or something. But I think it's getting better.", Jovi concluded.

"Paralyzed? That can be cured with a Cheri Berry Puree!", Duking proclaimed the exact cure to a minor paralyzes from a Pokémon's attack.

"I'd make you one if we were in my house right now…. But you're saying it's getting better?", Duking suggested.

"Yeah! Don't worry you guys. I'll be fine. I promise."

The elevator arrived to the main floor again. The doors slid open before the three exited out of the glass elevator.

After they've walked out, Michael turned to the other party members to see what their plan was. Jovi was still shaking the feeling in her hands. Duking awaited Michael's input seeing as the incident on the lower floor has inspired him to be more patient from now on in this hostile facility.

"Assuming Jovi's hands are alright, our first objective is to go find Ein's labs and take his key card for the Warp Station to connect to their headquarters. Hopefully we'll get back Marcia and any of the other prisoners real soon…"

"A sound plan…", Duking acknowledged.

Michael turned to Jovi and asked how she was feeling. She assured him she was alright.

"My hands are just a little messed up but it's getting better don't worry about it! I'm fine, don't worry big brother.", Jovi said.

On their way they made it across the burnt metal hall to the fork in the road through the broken wide gate. Immediately Michael and Duking tore down the second gate to Sector 4 with Poliwrath and Flygon. They advanced forward into unexplored territory as the sound of whirring machines and inaudible radio chatter echoed.

On the ceiling was a stream of fluorescent lights interrupted by a single panel for a hidden miniature Missile Turret judging by the mark on the metal surface. Michael lead the group to hug the walls as they snuck silently around the turret so as not to trigger its defense.

The path ended at a fork in the road again, this time splitting into two diagonal paths with doors lining each hall. Between the paths was a large screen monitor currently not displaying a blank white screen. On the ceiling was a skylight window showing light from a dug up hole in the desert. Footsteps were heard coming their way from one of the halls.

"So… this is the child I've heard so much about.", the voice echoed as the speaker revealed himself.

"Who are you? Are you Ein?", Michael asked up front when the group beheld a man dressed in a bulky sharp lab coat outfitted with gadgets on its sleeves and a holographic display P*DA. The man wore dark stern shades and sported a unique black hairdo with a single large clustered stringy cowlick hanging off his forehead like a fishhook and shaped like a lightning bolt.

"I am Ein. The first admin in charge of Cipher's science division nine years ago. My apprentice Lovrina took up my mantle when Cipher's hold on Orre was destroyed and forced us to retreat deep underground until they found us took us all to prison. Though she exceeded my accomplishments as Cipher's head of research and development, she failed to secure Cipher's victory when the Shadow Pokémon you stole from us were found to be too weak. I suppose the S.S. Libra did not hold enough strong Pokémon to create the army we had wanted.", he explained sitting tall with a stern expression.

"You're Ein? The old admin?", Michael asked once more.

"Yes. And you are desperately trying to foil a plan that has already come full circle. I am proof of this… Your family in your lab has already fallen to our influence and soon you will join them.", Ein said with a sadistic laugh.

Michael's eyes widened. Jovi turned to him wondering what he meant by that.

"What does he mean? Is Mommy and the professor safe?", Jovi asked her brother.

Michael angrily shook his head in response towards Ein.

"No! You're lying! They're safe! I had a message from them saying so!", Michael shouted in protest to his claims.

"The thing about us child, we are not keen on leaving ends untied. The Relic was destroyed, and the Purify Chamber has been dismantled. Celebi is nowhere to be seen. Eyes and ears have disappeared while the worlds that surround us have looked away as they always have. The only thing standing between us and our glorious silent return are stubborn ambitious kids like you who don't know when to give up! But with our return our master has brought new tactics for control. Overcoming people and pretending to be them when we write our messages on your P*DA to manipulate you for example, is one such tactic. I have to thank that boy Bitt for playing you all like fiddles. ", Ein expressed his gratitude for the traitor.

The three gasped to know Bitt was working with Cipher. He deliberately sent Marcia and the team to be captured in the middle of the desert. He must have sabotaged the ONBS building defense earlier to have all of ONBS's remaining employees removed, starting with the incompetent guard that stood outside the entrance.

"H-How could we have known? Why would he do this?", Michael expressed his confusion with who he thought was a friend.

"You can't believe this stuff Michael! We don't know if he's telling the truth! Mommy and the Professor are safe and Bitt is not a traitor!", Jovi boldly proclaimed in her attempt to stay positive.

Suddenly the large screen on the wall behind Ein displayed an overhead view of the HQ Lab's grounds. In the corner of the screen there was a date and time that took place several hours earlier today. Approaching the building's grounds from the forest were highlighted Standard Peons and a heavily equipped Commander Peon.

The camera panned to see the Commander send out two Electrodes. The Electrodes rolled forward towards the door to the residential wing and the automatic glass gate to the labs. They both used Explosion once they made contact with the doors and the building was broken wide for the Peons to rush in and destroy.

The screen switched to the camera on the helmet of the Commander Peon rushing forward with an Octillary suctioning itself on a surface and shooting Octazooka rounds in the direction of the Purify Chamber's room. The Peons set loose Houndour and Mightyenas to tear the foundation to threads.

At this point Jovi was already holding on to her brother's arm in tears as they witnessed their home being demolished by Cipher's forces. Michael was at a loss for words as his emotions welled up with sadness and rage.

"Understand this Michael, you cannot win. Our master has already seen your defeat at his hands…"

Having had enough, Duking charged forward with his arms swinging.

"SHUT UP!", The burly man shouted before punching the old admin.

Upon falling back in midair, his form changed. What hit the ground was the thin metallic skeleton of a holographic animatronic, just like the one Michael invented in his workshop. Seeing the fallen echo of his invention flared up his fear for he knew Ein was right.

"Remember…", a familiar voice suddenly boomed from the screen's speakers.

"All of this…. Everything that has happened… It was…. YOUR FAULT!", Ardos echoed an ominous accusation from the safety of Greevil's lair on Citadark Isle before the screen set to static.

Duking and Jovi looked to see Michael pick up his reverse engineered invention. The Cipher assimilated technology clanged as he held it in his hand. Michael took a good look at the thin minimalistic skull and dropped it on the ground.

"You've really crossed the line now… I think we'll need a different approach to this new Cipher…", Michael concluded seeing the evidence of a rising unbeatable tide.

Michael sent out his Umbreon, Poliwrath, and Dragonite. He turned to Duking and requested that he send out his three Pokémon as well. Jovi sent out her Litwick, Pluplu, and Mimi before she held her hands in response to their painful paralyzes.

"Let's take one of these paths and find Ein... Anything that gets in our way will live to regret it.", said Michael in a different tone than usual.

"We will find that key card and free our friends, or we'll tear this place down trying!"


	11. Episode 7

As Michael lead the charge deeper into the base after having chosen the left path of the two paths in the fork in the road deep inside the Neo Cipher base under Pyrite Town, Jovi and Duking kept up with their Pokémon joining the combined blitz.

Blockades of iron gates would be raised from the ground to block them from reaching the inner facilities. Turrets and Tesla Coils would reveal themselves from the ground and ceiling to trade fire with the approaching blitz but they would all be destroyed by the combined might of the trio's Pokémon.

Michael's Umbreon would rush to Bite, Poliwrath would shoot Hydro Pump attacks, Dragonite would tear asunder metal and machines with Outrage. Duking's Guagsire would contribute with forceful Mud Shot attacks, Masquerain would bust walls with Silver Wind, and Flygon would tear into metals side-by-side with Michael's Dragonite with Dragon Claw attacks. Jovi's Mimi and Pluplu supported with their Helping Hand attacks for the Pokémon and Litwick would continue spewing Flame Burst attacks and Hex casting on every burning piece of metal in the comfort of his trainer's arms.

Suddenly having past another cafeteria and destroyed various vending machines to feed and heal their Pokémon with its contents, an incredibly wide elevator for Cipher's personnel was discovered. The elevator appeared to be empty, but Michael's visor reacted to looking in its direction. The visor pulled over his left eye allowed him to identify three Specter Peons standing in the elevator.

"You are not going to stand in our way!", Michael proclaimed as he approached.

"We know… but we will try anyway.", responded one of the Specter Peons breathing through their mask with the electronic filter the mask gave before sending out three Cacturnes over the elevator.

They swung Pin Needle attacks that landed on Umbreon and Flygon, but they were quickly decimated by their opposing forces. The Caturnes fell and the Specter Peons returned their Poke Balls and knelt with one knee on the floor in unison as they were recalled back to their bases.

"Good riddance…", Michael said expressing his distaste for Neo Cipher's presence.

Without hesitation, Michael led the team on to the large metal elevator and hit the button with the down arrow. The team descended down the spacious elevator until it suddenly turned dark. The lights built into the elevator floor's provided illumination. What seemed like minutes turned into tens of minutes as they descended deeper under the crust.

In that time, the adrenaline from the constant barricade and turret bashing on the team withered. Michael still held a certain silent hostility in his heart. Jovi saw his face in the dim light the elevator provided. His eyes were shaded under the shadow on his face.

"Um Michael?... Big Brother?... Are you alright?", she asked with concern as she held her Litwick.

"I feel… absolutely livid, afraid, sad, all of those emotions at the same time Jovi. Don't try to hold me back, the soonest way possible I'm going to see this end. And everything will be back to normal, I promise… everything will be alright.", Michael assured giving a small smirk.

"Aye lad I'm sorry for what happened to your home and your family. I guess I can relate on that level. But don't lose yourself okay?", Duking advised Michael.

Michael shook his head and replied after turning to look at Duking, Jovi, and all the Pokémon in their blitzing team.

"I can't believe Bitt would sell out to Cipher… but it makes sense doesn't it? The evidence adds up…", the red headed teen stated.

"That's why he acted so strangely yesterday… he was dealing with pent up guilt inside. He knew what he was doing… but why?", Michael asked out loud remembering vividly the look on Bitt's face.

"That boy…. We all knew he dreamed of something better for all of us.," said Duking recalling the times prior to this new incident.

"He talked about how great life sounded outside of Orre. He was always wishing for something better than we already have and how he missed a lot of people who aren't even here anymore… especially Wes and Rui I suppose… sigh…", Duking continued with a feeling of regret for the boy.

"We're so helpless out here… it's hard enough getting any attention from outside the region. Clemont didn't do us any favors by claiming my and Dr. Kaminko's inventions as his own… and those 'friends' of mine from Kanto and Hoenn pretend like they've never visited us here. Absolutely no outside help whatsoever….", Michael further lamented their isolation from a world of help, shaking his head in pity.

"Yeah… but you know, if I remember correctly, Gonzap is coming to help us! Yeah! Nett got Gonzap to get his team together on a boat and their headed for Gateon Port!", Jovi offered some good news.

"Oh? Oh yeah, that's right… I guess Seth already has Gateon Port secured for their arrival… if Bitt hasn't already tipped Cipher off to Team Snagem's return…", Michael said looking down in doubt.

"You have to have more faith than that Big Brother! You said it yourself, everything will be alright. We'll fight Cipher together! Everyone left is here to back you up! We'll get our families back and Cipher will be gone! And that is exactly what we'll do!", Jovi exclaimed with a confident smile expressing her belief in Michael and the forces of good on their side.

Michael looked at her for a moment before looking at Duking and all of the Pokémon present in the elevator. Umbreon stood by his feet looking up at him with his red eyes. Michael sighed and broke a smile as he knelt to pet his dad's Pokémon behind his ears.

"Maybe I don't have anything to worry about… Maybe you're right… but after we're done here. We're going to take our chances out there… understand? Orre is no place for you to start your journey as a Pokémon Trainer anymore…", Michael stated accepting the reality that is the unfortunate state of the region.

"I guess it's better that way…", Jovi agreed remembering the places she'll always remember.

"It looks like we're here!", Duking announced seeing the elevator lights beginning to dim.

The metal platform stopped abruptly, taking the group and their Pokémon by surprise. They had arrived in a large dimly lit room with flood lights shining down on them from the walls. In front of them was a large dug out pathway into unknown territory. They followed the path with their Pokémon ready to rush any enemies in their way.

The smell of cold rustic metal and dust grew stronger as they explored the path. The cave grew wider and spacious until they approached another iron gate. There was a console requesting a password on the wall, but Michael gave the word to tear down the gate instead. The gate exploded into pieces, revealing a site the group never thought they'd behold.

"….This can't be real…", Michael said upon casting his sight on the horizon.

They stood at the end of a wide ramp into a large underground horizon. It was an incredibly spacious underground cavern with multiple metal pillars bracing the ceiling. Countless fans were scattered on the ceiling for ventilation purposes all connected with wires both pinned on the ceiling and hanging in the air. On the ground was built various machines, Cipher facilities, encampments and factories across the horizon. Sparks shined on conveyer belts and automated assembly lines transferring and processing minerals between factories. Cables lined the floor originating from hatches in various metal platforms built into the ground appearing to power the facilities. The lights from the facilities and machines scattered throughout the miles of occupied underground darkness gave Michael an eerie feeling surpassing the feeling he had when he first approached the Cipher Key Lair nine years ago.

"What is this place?", Jovi asked in awe of the mechanical horizon she beheld.

"Unbelievable..."

Duking looked around the horizon of automated machines. He was dumbfounded at the site of an entire hidden base taking up so much space deep under Pyrite Town. He could remember when he took part in sealing away the Under to keep crooks from living out of sight in the cover of the darkest corners of the Orre Region, but to seal this would take an army.

"This is far worse than the Under ever was! This is…. this is the Under fifty times over again! But it's all this new Cipher's doing…. What are they doing?!", Duking expressed his extreme discomfort with seeing the base with structures connected by cables, wired walls, conveyer belts holding ore and spanning across the vast cavern.

"Welcome to the Undermine.", Ein's voice rang out from an unidentifiable source with an electric filter.

The group beheld a small object flying in the shape of a Ninjask flying towards them with its wings flapping so quickly it couldn't be seen. Upon approaching, it turned out to be a Ninjask Bot from Michael's workshop, reverse engineered to include a speaker on its abdomen and a camera in its forehead.

Michael watched his altered invention in the hands of the enemy flying towards him standing in front of the group of trainers and Pokémon. The Ninjask Bot hovered in the air infront of him.

"I commend you for making it this far, but if you think this is our base of operations, you're gravely mistaken. None of your friends are being held here. Nothing awaits you here but the seeds of a new means of instant control over newly acquired ground for our master's dream."

"This is not your grave, but you are welcome in it should you continue to explore this place. Though if I were you, I would highly advise myself to return to the surface and make your time before the entirety of Cipher comes crashing down on you like a torrential storm.", said Ein through the hovering metal imitation of a Ninjask.

"Where are they?! In Citadark?!", Michael demanded to know where Megg and the other prisoners were kept.

"…. Yes. Yes Citadark Isle.", Ein answered with slight hesitation in his tone.

"And where are you? Ein?", the red headed teen requested further information.

"If you must know, I'm in my testing chambers down the other path you didn't take where you met my expired Doppelganger. If you really want to reach Citadark Isle, perhaps I could offer you a one way ticket with my key card at one of our Warp Stations…"

"That sounds like a trap, Michael.", Duking offered his view on the offer.

"Even still that is a tempting offer… but all I want is to see is my friends and family you've captured back with us safe and sound. If we have to tear our way through your army to get them back, then we're ready to go.", stated the red headed teen eyeing his own reverse engineered invention.

"I see your appetite for destruction has grown. But I find your lack of time management disturbing. The more you stay here the harder it will be for you to defend what little friends you have left. Don't be surprised if you return to an empty Shop on the surface.", Ein warned with a small sadistic laugh.

"Turn back now and face me! Only then will I give you the choice of going to Citadark or taking what you have now…. Hold on. What?", Ein asked someone who is with him in his undisclosed location.

The group and the Pokemon froze in silence as they watched the Ninjask Bot hover in silence before sounding Ein's voice in a surprised manner.

"A parley?! You honestly wish to…. Understood…", said Ein to the unknown entity.

"That was a message from our master. Plans have already been set. But in ord-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Michael's patience grew thin before he lunged forward and snagged his machine. Ein was caught by surprise as Michael hijacked his own invention, clamping the Ninjask Bot against his chest as it's metal legs scattered and it's thin wings froze against him.

"Gasp! How dare you! You dare interrupt me when I-"

Michael drew out his P*DA with his Snag Machine mounted hand and unfolded it. To the surprise of his sister and Duking, Michael hacked control of his own invention back into his hands. The Ninjask Bot stopped struggling, allowing the red headed teen to place the augmented invention on the ground. He tapped his P*DA screen and accessed the autopilot option in his reverse engineered invention that was still his.

Ninjask Bot began flapping its wings again and faced his inventor. Michael smiled with a laugh at this achievement. Hacking his own stolen invention to usurp it's control.

"Now this Ninjask Bot is mine again. And with that camera, I think it will help us here now more than ever.", Michael gladly stated.

"What an idea! Good on ya!", Duking congratulated him.

Michael turned about face to face Jovi, Duking, and their Pokémon eagerly awaiting his word.

"If Undermine is going to be Cipher's factory for their armies, then there must be a Warp Station somewhere, maybe even multiple Warp Stations. We may not even need a Key Card if things are as automated as they are. We'll find a Warp Station and I'll send you both to the Station we found earlier in the Pyrite Cave base and get to the people left behind in Pyrite Town.", Michael explained his plan.

"And what about you? Big bro?", Jovi asked the question that came to her mind the moment Michael let out his thoughts. She watched him respond with his head facing away in uncertainty as he said.

"I'm… going to take a Warp Station to Citadark Isle and find Mom, Krane, Megg, Marcia and anyone else I could find before I settle this with Ardos. I need to make sure Dr. Kaminko and Chobin are safe too while I'm at it…. And actually, I think Seth could help us here too.", said Michael accessing the email feature on his already open P*DA to check with Seth via email.

Seth sent an immediate response to his request.

"The Realgam Tower's caretakers are on their way to Gateon Port. I will head towards Pyrite Town and see about saving those people in the Shop if you can't make it in time. I will send them to Gateon Port and proceed to Dr. Kaminko's manner to convince them to come with me with their belongings to the port town as well… if you can provide me coordinates.", requested Seth through his message.

Michael responded complying with his ally's request along with the proposition of having them bring their inventions, including the Robo Kyogre specifically, in case circumstances should arise. Seth agreed and confirmed he is en route. The P*DA was closed.

"Now let's send Ninjask Bot to scout for us.", he said raising his arm up to the air to send the robotic Pokémon replica into the air.

Michael watched as he could see from where the group stood, blockades of Cipher Peons and Pokemon were setting up ahead beyond the ramp. Engineer Pawns were lighting their welders on turrets built into metal ground and many variants of Peons were keeping guard with their numerous Pokémon varying in size. Packs of Mightyenas and Houndooms, swarms of Beedrills, assemblies of Aggrons and Metagross, and parked caravans of Camerupt were in their arsenal within each of the sections blocked off by giant metal gates in wired caged walls. Laser fences were flickered on with, in synch with the panning perspective provided by the Ninjask Bot, their power lines running towards the same metal platforms appearing to be acting as batteries to their surrounding sectors of structures and missile launchers. Behind a line of Magmortar and bunkered up Peons with a battalion of lesser tiered Pokémon, a Warp Station could be seen with a visible blue outlined portal within the structure's arch way at the top of its pyramid-like shape. A single Specter Peon could be seen emerging from the portal before the portal shrunk and disappeared in an instant.

Michael was awestruck, along with Duking and Jovi and the rest of the Pokémon peering over his shoulders. Suddenly they heard the sounds of Cipher's helicopters within the vicinity. Looking outward into the horizon they could see a squadron of piloted Gyrocopters flying with their spotlights shining in the distance, approaching the guarded path ahead. It looked as if they were being stationed with the rest of the teams preparing for Michael's arrival.

"H-How do they have helicopters down here?", Jovi asked.

"More like how are we going to make it past all of those defenses?...", Michael asked himself uncertain on where to start.

"Do you think we have enough firepower to fight all of this, lad? Even with your Lugia?", Duking added his uncertainty.

Michael thought hard about their options. They could easily turn back, but the time it would take for them to go back would lead to a trap back in the Pyrite Cave base. They could rely on Seth to save the people hiding in the Shop and try to hold their ground here, or they could take their chances fighting the army ahead and take to the Warp Station to proceed with their plan.

"But how can we stand against all of them?! There must be a way…. Maybe there…. Wait. What about this?", he spoke his thoughts out loud, pulling out the Neo Evolution Key Stone he received from Rett earlier.

Jovi and Duking looked into the chaotic twister within the orange gem Michael held in his left hand in the palm of his Snag Machine glove. Confused, Jovi proceeded to ask her brother.

"Are we going to Neo Evolve one of our Pokémon? If we can?", she asked holding her Litwick who was also intrigued by the stone.

Michael held the stone towards their Pokémon. From Jovi's Litwick, Pluplu the Plusle, and Mimi the Minun to Michael's Umbreon, Dragonite, Polywhirl, Ariados, and Magmar, excluding Lugia for last. Duking's Quagsire, Masquerain, and Flygon didn't react to it either although Flygon looked more entranced and erratic at the sight of the stone for some reason, but it did not trigger an evolution of any kind never the less.

"Lugia. We need you for a moment.", he said before sending out the former XD001 project from Greevil's Shadow Pokémon plan.

Michael held the stone to see if his perched silent guardian would react to the stone. Lugia stared with a small growl into the stone's twister and shook his head with a frown. Michael lowered the stone with this experiment yielding no results, but then Jovi reminded him of something important.

"Wait a minute Michael. Neo Evolution also hurts the Pokémon that's evolving right? Isn't that what that Peon told us?", Jovi queried upon remembering what Rett said.

Then Michael thought back to the fight he and Seth had against Dakim and Nascour at the Cipher Key Lair. Seth's Tyranitar Neo Evolved by its trainer's command with his gauntlet, but the transformation left Tyranitar severely injured for the price of being stronger.

"… You're right Jovi… but that doesn't mean anything to us right now because we don't have any Pokémon capable of Neo Evolving.", Michael replied.

"Aye but the rat did say you weren't limited to using that thing on your own Pokémon right?", Duking asked.

"… You're not saying I could just bum rush at them waving this stone and hope to the universe that they'll start turning into weakened Neo Evolved forms of themselves all at the same time?!", Michael suggested questioning his safety in the matter.

"Oh big bro you know better than that! There must be a way… like maybe a certain invention of yours could help?", Jovi stated with a smile nudging her brother to look at Ninjask Bot hovering in the far distance.

After a realization and a plan was developed, Ninjask Bot returned with the Neo Evolution Key Stone in the grip of its small metal arms. It could barely hold on to the gem and keep itself balanced in the air, but it slowly began flying towards the first blockade ahead as it gained altitude.

Michael gathered and assembled the blitzing group of Pokémon ready to rush down the enemy as soon as they could see any of their Pokémon entering a cocoon of light for their painful transition. Lugia stood behind the group ready to swoop in as soon as they'd get a head start in their charge down the ramp.

They waited. They spied out the Pokémon ahead. Mightyena and Houndoom with minor Cacturne support from Specter Peons. The Ninjask Bot was just overhead. Michael had it lower it's altitude little by little before to everyone's surprise including the enemies, the Houndoom began acting howling and yelping before becoming overwhelmed by the Neo Evolution Key Stone's exposure. The Houndoom portion of the blockade began Neo Evolving all at once.

"Now's our chance! GO GO GO!", Michael shouted, leading the charge down the ramp with Umbreon running slightly ahead of him.

Duking's Masquerain and Flygon flew as Quagsire ran with the grace of a jelly bean. Jovi's Mimi and Pluplu rode on their trainer's shoulders ready to lend their Helping Hand attacks as Litwick was readying his Flame Burst attacks. Michael's party was invigorated by the rushing charge their trainer lead with their fangs, claws, a spines ready to deal damage.

As soon as they made it off the ramp and into the sector, Lugia swooped forward and provided covering fire with streams of Areoblast attacks sending the opposing force into a panic as the heroic strike team began dwindling their numbers. The Neo Evolved Houndooms couldn't cope with their newly forced unexpected form and the pain left them easy targets for the blitz team. They fell by fours and were forced to retreat with the energy they had left at their trainer's commands.

"Alert! Our Houndooms just Neo Evolved without consent! A Neo Evolution Key Stone is in enemy hands! The first barricade has fallen to enemy hands! Retreat!", a Commander Peon announced via intercom through speakers scattered throughout the first sector.

Michael's Dragonite and Duking's Flygon tore into the commanding officer's bunker windows, wreaking havoc with the fire they left behind. The bunker was emptied as soon as Michael and the others arrived. The Peons were driven back, leaving their structures and mechanisms at their mercy.

A battery platform built into the ground powering a laser fence and a few tesla coil turrets in the first barricade's sector was still standing. The blitzing team rushed back out of the bunker to target the mechanized ground. Lugia blasted it open with a Psycho Boost attack. The psychic sphere allowed the rest of the Pokémon to tear apart the mechanical innards. With repeated claw and bite attacks, Outrage from Dragonite, Karate Chop from Poliwrath, Dragon Claws from Flygon and Bites from Umbreon completely destroyed the battery buried in the metal ground, leaving the tesla coils and the laser fences off.

Michael called all the Pokémon to regroup. Ninjask Bot still hovered clumsily with the Neo Evolution Key Stone in its claws but it descended slowly towards its master among the two trainers and their Pokémon.

"Great work everyone! We've beaten this section, but the second part of the barricade is just ahead.", Michael said seeing the destruction they've caused around them.

"When we destroyed the battery though, some new paths opened up over there and over there.", he explained pointing at two gateways opposite of each other in walls previously sealed with the laser fence.

"It might be worth it to explore a little before we go ahead. Anyone want to come with me or stay here until I come back?", he provided the options to Jovi and Duking.

"What? You mean over there?", Duking asked directing his attention towards the open Eastern gate.

"It will be a quick trip! We'll run there, break something, and return in minutes flat. Lugia can keep this sector clear of Cipher until we come back. Sounds good up there?", he asked his legendary ally in the air.

Lugia let out a small shout as he dropped himself down on to the ground with a small tremor. He stood tall and folded his wings in a guarding vigilant stance, looking towards the rest of the blockade ahead.

"Then it's settled. Let's keep up the pace everyone!", Michael encouraged everyone as he and his Umbreon proceeded forward to the open Eastern laser gate.

Jovi and Duking followed Michael with the rest of their Pokémon as Lugia stood guard.

The blitz team passed through the electric gate to see a small walled sector with myriad of scrap metal and rusted junk. In the center of it all was a single cylindrical metallic structure with a holographic purple topped Poke Ball on top of its roof, vaguely resembling Phenac City's Pokémon Center. Its automatic door was on elevated ground with small retractable ramp built under it.

"Is that Phenac City's Pokémon Center?", asked Duking before hearing rustling from the surrounding junk yard.

From the metal piles, a burrowed triad of Lairon emerged and charged at the team. Flygon and Dragonite were the first to meet it with their sharp claws before Poliwrath and Magmar finished them off with combined Hydro Pump and Flamethrower attacks. The Lairon fainted in their places.

"That was easy…", stated Michael before running up the ramp to the Cipher Pokémon Center.

The door wouldn't open. Michael stepped back down the ramp and ordered his Dragonite to blast the door open with great force.

"Outrage! Open it up!"

The door was mauled over and over again before it was blasted to pieces by a finishing punch.

Dragonite stood aside as he allowed Michael and his Umbreon to enter the building. The first thing he notices was how similar the inner interior was to Phenac City's Pokémon Center interior despite having metal tiles on the floor and various aesthetics reminiscent of the Cipher Key Lair's interior design. Where the stairs to the Cable Club would have been located is replaced with a kiosk advertising Woot Candy for Pokémon and people to consume for its taste and health benefits.

Behind the counter beside a Healing Machine was a familiar nurse. Michael and his sister approaching from the door recognized her from Gateon Port. The nurse looked afraid.

"You?!", Michael exclaimed.

"Nurse? Didn't we see you at Gateon Port?", Jovi exclaimed.

"Michael? Oh… you're here.", she stated with a worried tone.

"What happened? I mean, what happened to you after the Slaking went mad in Gateon Port that night?", Michael questioned as Duking joined through the broken door.

"I can't tell you. I'm sorry…", the nurse apologized, bowing her head in her regret.

"Why? Did Evice take you, Lovrina, and Naps after we left? Is that what happened?"

"I can't answer that…. Please…", the nurse pleaded him to stop asking questions.

"Just tell me, why are you here?!", Michael interrogated further before the nurse shook her head and spoke clearly.

"I am here to heal your Pokémon… I have been given a new purpose in my life and that is it... Please just let me heal your Pokémon. It's what I do best…", the nurse requested with a melancholy sincere expression.

Michael didn't respond verbally, but instead returned the Pokémon present with him in his Poke Ball to give to the nurse before she healed them in the Healing Machine. Jovi and Duking followed with their Pokémon handed to the nurse in their Poke Balls.

"All of your Pokémon have been healed. Please proceed on your mission and have a nice day…", the nurse said like she has been rehearsing that line to everyone she's met in Undermine.

Michael, Jovi, and Duking looked at her for a moment. She would only stare at them with a simple melancholy expression.

"Is that all you have to say?", Michael asked.

"… Beware the rings… that's all I can say.", the nurse stated her cryptic message before pushing a secret button under the counter.

"Go before they come here. Please find a way to end all this…", she requested one last time before silencing herself of all speech.

Michael turned to his sister who looked just as confused as he was. Duking couldn't make sense of what she meant by the "rings" either. But when they looked out the broken door they saw they don't have any more time to waste. Lugia was busy fighting a Gyrocopter in the air as the pilot was firing miniature missile salvos to harm Lugia as ground forces approached the Eastern gate.

After sustaining damage, Lugia countered through the smoke with a direct Areoblast attack. The air vehicle spun out of control in the vortex beam started falling before it hit the ground in a fiery explosion. Just before the impact however, the pilot was recalled back to his safe point, free from harm.

When Lugia returned to his guarding post he saw the strike team of Peons fighting his trainer and company. With immediate intervention, Lugia's Earthquake attack shook and crippled the opposing forces from behind, out of range of Michael, Jovi, and Duking's Pokémon in area of effect of the Move. This allowed Michael and the gang to gain the upper hand immediately, finishing off the team consisting of Metang, Mightyena, and Arbok.

After their way was cleared, Michael and the others were able to regain their thoughts. They turned back to the Cipher Pokémon Center to see the ramp was retracted and the door was blocked by a set of back up doors that went unused earlier. It seems the nurse would not like to see them again, or the building itself has been set on some sort of lock-down mode.

"What did she mean?... The 'rings' was it?", Michael asked Jovi and Duking though it was obvious they wouldn't know.

"I don't know big bro… maybe it stands for something?", Jovi suggested it might be a code word as she held her Litwick and kept both of her shoulders adjusted with Mimi and Pluplu's weight on them.

"Rings? Ring leaders? Rings of fire? Ring… that is very strange…", Duking added.

"Maybe it does stand for something… like some sort of division, though I guess it would be Ein in charge of this division specifically that we're fighting. The Epsilon Division and the Alpha Division with those Specter Peons we met earlier. That must mean Nascour could be around here somewhere, but I wouldn't see him coming like I could see his Specters. He has some sort of advanced invisibility technology that the program in my Aura Reader can't spot, so we better be ready for anything.", the red headed teen explained keeping the team on alert.

Upon returning to Lugia, Michael discovered Ninjask Bot was still flying in place with the Neo Evolution Key Stone. It must have been too small for the Peons to notice.

"Now where to, lad?", Duking asked with his Quagsire, Flygon, and Masquerain ready.

Michael looked at his options. Seeing as the blockade ahead seems to be growing in numbers, it would be best to attack it now before it becomes too unbearable. He pulled out his P*DA and instructed Ninjask Bot to scout ahead with its Neo Evolutionary Key Stone in its metal claws.

Everyone had their Pokémon ready as the tiny fake Ninjask zoomed forward in the air. From the P*DA they could see Aggron standing beside their trainers near pairs automated missile turrets. A Swarm of Beedrill flew back in forth in a patrolling manner with their eyes angry red from a nearby Remo Machine. Sand bags were stacked in a line, dividing a few Rhyperior teams and turrets while laser fences were activated, keeping the extra areas outside the zone locked.

One of the Enraged Beedrills noticed the mechanical Ninjask clumsily floating forward. They all proceeded to charge with their stingers ready before they started dropping and twitching like a cascade of insect Pokémon after spraying imported Repel items. To Michael's surprise, the Beedrill were beginning to Neo Evolve along with the Aggron shortly after the Ninjask flew over the downed Beedrills.

"Our time is now! GO! Lugia take care of those turrets!", Michael issued the order to have Lugia draw the coming fire of the machines.

With a running start and Lugia overhead, the Beedrills were quickly doused and incinerated before the stragglers in their altered weakened form were tackled with brutal bite and claw attacks.

Jovi's two Cheering Pokémon provided supporting Helping Hands to boost everyone's power as Litwick provided complimentary blasts of Flame Burst attacks towards machinery and structures.

The three Neo Aggron recovered from their state and were quick to start swinging themselves at the Dragonite and Flygon there to meet them in combat. Poliwrath and Umbreon surrounded them from behind and dealt a combined blow as Quagsire washed them out of the way with a Surf attack.

The Peons were forced to return their Pokémon and flee for the last blockade as the automated defenses were destroyed one by one by Lugia's concentrated Psycho Boost attacks.

Streams of smoke from the destroyed machinery signified their victory in this newly conquered sector. The laser fences were still online, so the battery hidden in the ground was still needed to be destroyed however. The blitzing team searched the area for hidden wires until they found a particular metal tiled ground that was marked with a warning sign. It was shortly torn open by the Pokémon and the battery inside was decimated.

With the laser fences down, the way to the last barricade was clear and a few extra areas were open to explore if Michael would so choose. With Ninjask Bot still safely hovering in the air and Lugia now standing guard in this newly acquired ground; Michael made his time and made the decision to investigate the Western gate that opened up after the laser fence's battery was destroyed.

The blitz team marched forward, following the red headed teen that was not afraid to see what was ahead. The lamp posts and spotlights scattered all over the walled grounds revealed some sort of training ground outfitted with obstacle courses built on sand, fenced into sections by sandbags for new Peons to train.

There were target ranges, beside the obstacle courses, where various wooden dummies vaguely resembling different Pokémon were scattered throughout the wide spaces. Just to the right of the target ranges were small arenas for Pokémon Battles between Peons. Kiosks were placed near the target ranges for some strange purposes.

"This looks like a playground for Cipher's goons…", Duking stated his observation as he followed Michael and Jovi to one of the lines of the target ranges.

Michael approached and examined a kiosk. It displayed information and a small amusingly animated sequence, showing a Cipher Peon and his Arbok.

"You have thirty seconds! Choose a Pokémon with a projectile move and hit the targets as they rise for points!", said the Kiosk as it showed the Neo Cipher Peon's Arbok hurling an Acid attack over a gray dummy resembling an Oddish before hurling another purple blob of poisonous acid on a Machop dummy behind the Oddish.

Michael looked back at the range to see the dummies that stood in place have retracted into the ground, as if it was an arcade game waiting for him to play. If he really wanted to he would send his Ariados to participate, but he knew they had better things to do with their limited time.

"Is there anything of use here?", Michael asked, scanning the area with his Pokémon as Jovi and Duking searched the obstacle course consisting of jungle gyms, claustrophobic crawlspaces, jump courses, walls with ropes on each side, walls with no ropes on each side, laid out tires and tight ropes.

Mimi and Pluplu playfully hopped through the tires as the other Pokémon in the combined triad searched the area. But then they stopped when they found something of interest in one of the tires. Curious, Jovi approached with her Litwick still in her arms and examined what was the matter.

"Woah! Here's something!", Jovi announced after peering into a tire on the sand.

She placed her Litwick down on the ground picked up another purple topped Item Chest. She opened it to discover a key card of some kind. Michael and Duking approached to see what she had found.

"Why was a key card stashed in a tire?!", Michael asked completely confused before being handed the card by his sister.

"What is it for? It's not for the Warp Station thing is it?", Jovi asked as unlikely as it is.

With the card in his right hand, Michael saw it belonged to Admin Evice. This was scarcely odd because it was sitting in the middle of an obstacle course in the least likely location it would be found. In a purple Item Chest no less, which then forces Michael to ask the question.

"Who keeps leaving these purple chests everywhere we go? This reminds me of that Phenac City Battle SIM Membership Card we found on our way back to the HQ Lab. We barely saw who it was that left it there for us.", exclaimed the very confused red headed teen.

"Do you think whoever that was is leaving these chests for us to find?", Jovi suggested.

"Who? What are you all blabbering about?", Duking questioned as he couldn't know what they were talking about.

"Cipher can't possibly be behind all this. Either this is the real thing or it's a fake card planted here by them to throw us off!", said Michael looking at the card's dark gray design. It has a black stripe presumably for accessing Cipher's machines or other appliances.

"But if there is someone else out there leaving these clues for us, do you think they're on our side?", Jovi suggested, thinking back to her dream last night.

"I-I don't know! But I'm not going to put my faith in some ghost. Let's meet back with my Lugia. This place doesn't seem to have anything else…", suggested Michael after suddenly feeling unnerved by the notion of something even more eerie than Cipher being present in an empty underground training ground walled from a horizon of mining machines and structures.

After the blitz team was reunited back with Lugia and the idling Ninjask Bot still clinging to its Neo Evolution Key Stone, Michael was presented with his choices again. He was very tempted to go to the other side from the Cipher Peon Training grounds to see what facility they would otherwise miss. Seeing as the blockade ahead has remained stagnant and no one has bothered to send a fire team to Lugia in the time they were gone, Michael figured they might investigate one last side section before they burn a path to the Warp Station ahead of them, but he wasn't sure if they'd have the time.

Suddenly, Michael's P*DA rang. Two messages were in his mailbox.

From Seth the Magician to Michael, titled "Liberation Successful."

"Evice's teams of Specter Peons have been eliminated and the people in the Shop are free. Pyrite Town's last residents are on their way to join the Realgam Tower caretakers at Gateon Port. I will escort them myself until they've arrived.", read Seth's message.

From Ostix to Michael, titled "We're alright."

"There was a scuffle outside, but we couldn't see what was happening. The knocking on our door stopped and then a man in a black cape told us to get out on to our bikes and head to Gateon Port. I'm writing you this now before I get on my ride. Hope to see you there soon!", read Ostix's message.

Michael replied to both of the messages before closing his P*DA.

Knowing the people in the Shop have been rescued from abduction, Michael found it more reasonable to explore one more sector before confronting the final blockade. Even so however, he decided it would be best to head straight for the Warp Station instead because the more time they spend the more reinforcements there will likely be standing between them and their escape.

"We're breaking on through you guys! Be ready to face the fire up ahead!", Michael announced to Jovi and Duking's surprise.

"We aren't going to see what's over there first?", Jovi asked out of curiosity.

"No, not enough time. We have to strike now before more of them are waiting for us. Don't worry! Ninjask Bot will scout ahead and Neo Evolve any Pokémon that can Neo Evolve.", explained Michael, pulling out his P*DA and keeping his Pokémon ready.

Duking and Jovi readied their Pokémon as they watched the metallic Ninjask replica hover forward and elevate itself into the air.

On the screen of Michael's P*DA it showed the blockade ahead still had their Magmortars behind a line of Cipher Peons with their varying Pokémon like Skarmory, Dodrio, Cacnea, Arbok, Weezing, and Houndours. It looked relatively unchanged until Michael spotted a single Engineer Pawn running forward with two strange devices in his hands. He seems to be in a hurry.

"What is he doing?", Michael asked out loud as he witness the peon place the strange devices on metal ground entangled with electric wires.

When he placed a device, he proceeded to place the other device six yards away from the other one side by side. The devices themselves began sinking partially into the metal tiles and began rooting themselves with electric wires. The embedded device stuck out like a rock on a smooth surface entangled with vines.

"What is that?... W-What?!", Michael suddenly reacted to what was happening over the planted devices.

Over the two little machines were two strange hovering horizontal ring-like objects floating overhead without any strings. They descended upon the devices and suddenly concealed them as if the machines disappeared into their gaps. The devices were nonexistent for a moment before the two unidentifiable objects suddenly started to ascend. And like a curtain on a stage, it slowly revealed a mechanical structure out of seemingly nowhere. It appeared to be revealing a strange tesla coil-like defensive structure erected with electricity crackling at the spherical tip of its spire. Once the two structures fully revealed themselves from the strange flying objects, the rings shrunk and vanished without a trace.

"Did they just place two of… whatever that was… with those rings?... What in the world was that?!", Michael expressed his extreme curiosity about about what power Cipher must be possessing to instantly summon buildings.

Suddenly one of the two structures activated itself with the power from the metal wired ground. A ball of crackling energy was shot out of the tip of its spire and hit Ninjask Bot. Michael gasped at his static screen before he and the other dumbfounded trainers saw Ninjask Bot's parts and the Neo Evolution Stone it held fall to the ground. The strange towering defensive spires ahead were idly charging electricity, presumably to use against them soon.

"Well this complicates things…", Michael admitted.

"What are we going to do now?", Jovi asked keeping her Pluplu and Mimi seated on her shoulders.

"All the stronger Pokémon will head in first. We need to bring down those buildings, and by the looks of it, a well-placed Earthquake attack from Lugia will break its power source which seems to be running through the ground. Otherwise Flygon and Dragonite will rush forward and tackle the Spires down before we let the rest of us rush in to try and finish the battle.", the red headed teen strategized.

Duking prepared his Flygon as Michael signaled his Lugia to start flapping and flying forward towards the opposition. They could see the spires beginning to activate and the Peons sending their Skarmories to fight.

The Spires began shooting their orbs one shot for every two seconds. Lugia spun to dodge one but was struck by the second volley. Michael rushed forward and shouted as Lugia tried to keep itself in the air circling around the Cannon Spire as Skarmories gave chase.

"Earthquake!", Michael shouted with Lugia already readying its powers.

With a loud roar, the ground began to shake and tear itself apart a little. The Cannon Spires still stood tall but the enemy Pokémon on the ground were stunned for a moment. The Magmortars saw Michael and began launching giant flaming balls of fire out of their arms into the sky to hit him.

The red headed teen ran back to dodge the coming fiery explosions and told his Dragonite and Dukin's Flygon to start rushing toward the Cannon Spires to knock them down any way they can.

Lugia spun as more shots from the Cannon Spires were fired in his direction. Some shots barely missed his wings while others zipped across his neck. When Lugia turned to see the flock of Skarmories and the volleys of fire balls towards the team proceeding to attack the blockade, Lugia unleashed an Areoblast attack to divide the Skarmories and disrupt the Magmortar team below.

Explosions were heard all over the place and sirens went off as the Cannon Spires had their tesla coils toppled and the Neo-Cipher Peons struggled with keeping their Pokémon standing against Michael, Jovi, and Duking's combined forces.

The Magmortars launched more fire balls towards the blitzing team, blasting Michael's Ariados before they were suddenly harassed by Duking's Masquerain using Bubblebeam attacks and escaping away from their lines of fire.

Lugia evaded the flock of Skarmories attacks while seeing an approaching squadron of two Gyrocopters in the distance. The silver winged Pokémon flew between the Gyrocopters, confusing the pilots of the two air vehicles before they were met with scattered metal clangs of Skarmory clumsily colliding with them in pursuit of the legendary Pokémon.

As Michael revived his Ariados with a crushed Revive medicine, Duking had his Flygon and Guagsire sweep through the lines of enemy Pokémon with combined Sand Tomb and Surf attacks. Jovi's Mimi and Pluplu stood by cheering with Helping Hand moves as Litwick periodically blasted distant enemies with Flame Burst shots.

Houndours were met with Umbreon and Poliwrath as Weezings and Arboks were set a flame by Magmar. The once fortified positions and walls of stacked sandbags began to fall into disarray.

The Magmortars finally singed Masquerain before returning their attention to the enemies at the door. But Lugia descended upon them with another direct Earthquake attack, bouncing them up and down before some fainted in place, before returning his attention to the two Gyrocopters unleashing small missile salvos.

Lugia sustained damage and was forced to land abruptly, drawing attention from his trusted trainer.

"Dragonite! Outrage! Poliwrath, try to knock one of them down with a Hydro Pump attack!", shouted Michael pointing towards the two approaching Gyrocopters.

Dragonite approached a Neo Cipher Pilot in the air with a ferocious spirit and claws swinging as Poliwrath tried to snipe the other air vehicle with a Hydro Pump attack, but it missed.

Dragonite's target tried flying backwards away from the approaching damage; he couldn't fire any Missiles when the target is too close to lock on to. But the other Gyrocopter Pilot tried to help his ally by locking on and firing his missile salvo towards Dragonite. Dragonite rushed downward as the missiles followed him and eventually made their mark on him, downing him in a blasts of smoke and fire.

Despite this small victory, one of the pilots were immediately met with a high pressure volume of water from Poliwrath' second attempt while Lugia was brought back into the fight by his trainer.

The doused Gyrocopter lost control of its altitude and the pilot was forced to recall back to his safe point. The other pilot began to panic as he saw Lugia about to fire a direct Areoblast attack in the air thirty yards away from him. He immediately recalled before his vehicle was tossed through the destructive blast and crashed into a nearby mining conveyer belt transporting ore from one facility to another.

Dodrios ran with their cowering trainers and whatever being was left was forced to either be returned to their Poke Balls or run away screaming in terror. The Cannon Spires were destroyed and the Warp Station's sector has been cleared.

"We did it!", Michael cheered with his arms in the air.

Jovi and Duking cheered along with the rest of their Pokémon who helped in the largescale battle. Dragonite was healed back up with any of the rest of the Pokémon who might still be injured from the engagement. Finally after pushing their way through the enemy's ranks, they stood before a functional Warp Station that did not even require an admin's key card, but had the slot for one anyway in it's console.

All Pokémon were returned to their Poke Balls, including Jovi's and Duking's as they examined the tall marvel of technology. Michael inspected the console before looking at the tear in reality up in the arch way.

"Status: 96% Durability. Energy Consumption Unrestricted due to Domain. Reinforcements Available. Recall Function to Home Base currently established. Specimen Link unavailable.", said the status report.

"Home base?...", Michael asked out loud.

"Do you think that's Citadark Isle? Lad?", Duking asked standing beside him to see the console.

"It must be… I can't think of anywhere else….", admitted Michael.

"Should we come with you? Or do you think you can handle this yourself?", asked the big man again as he looked back at the tear in reality on the top of the stairs of the machine.

"You've all been very helpful, but I think I'll need to see about this alone with my Pokémon. I don't want to risk losing any of you to the mazes on Citadark Isle where there's probably an ambush waiting in every corner. I'm going to find as many prisoners as I can, including Megg and the rest, and then I'll end Cipher once and for all by defeating their leader as soon as I can…", Michael explained as he felt his heart growing heavy from how nervous he felt about invading yet another enemy base.

"But what about us Big Brother?", Jovi asked uncertain on where they fit.

"I'll have you both warped to the station in the base just below Pyrite Town. Find a way to blast through that iron gate with your Pokémon and reach the ONBS building to see what happened in there. And then you're heading over to Gateon Port with the rest of the refugees. Seth will be there with Dr. Kaminko and Chobin hopefully.", the protagonist explained looking through the options on the console.

He found an option to select a waypoint for the Warp Station's connection. Some Warp Stations were listed while others had limited access and the names of their locations redacted. A very odd security measure, but Michael thought nothing of it for now as he selected the Pyrite Town Warp Station and saw the tear in reality under the archway begin to alter and expand.

"Now's the time Jovi! Duking, take care of her! I'll be back with Megg as soon as I can!", Michael proclaimed to the two.

"Good luck big brother! I believe in you! We, believe in you!", said Jovi giving him a tight hug with her arms around him. He hugged back and assured he will be alright.

"Please stay safe Michael. See ya soon.", she requested giving one last hug with her head on his shoulder before releasing and approaching the steps of the Warp Station.

"Thank you, for rescuing me and taking us on this little adventure lad. A shame I can't come with you, but I understand that in certain times safety isn't in numbers. I'll see you later!", Duking bid farewell as he began climbing the steps too.

Michael watched as his no longer little sister Jovi and Duking make it to the top of the pyramid shaped structure. Jovi stuck her hand through the tear in space wide enough for her to step through. She put one leg over the other into the hole with Duking following her into the familiar territory. From there they made their way back to the iron gate dividing the cave and the ONBS building's roof.

Just then a thought pierced his mind as he stood looking up at the tear. Michael remembered the invention that sacrificed its life not too long ago. He rushed back to see the broken remains of his Cipher-reverse engineered Ninjask Bot. Though it was likely a duplicate of his design, he still felt very sorry for what had to have happened. He could never have imagined his own inventions inspired by his father's legacy to turn on him in a way, but also suffer an unfortunate fate. He picked up a piece of its wing and its little claw and took them in memory of his altered creation.

He spotted his Neo Evolution Key Stone intact among scattered burning remains. Michael reacquired his stone and put it in his Key Items pocket before he proceeded back to the Warp Station. There he began getting curious with his options for where to warp to and realized he had Evice's Keycard from the training ground sector.

He swiped it, and immediately a whole mess of new options were presented to him. He could edit Evice's hidden Sigma Division that consisted of upgraded Specter Peons, Classic Peons, Stealth Gyrocopter Pilots, and various experimental classes Peons that haven't even been finalized by Ein apparently. If he wanted to, he could request that one arrives through the Warp Station and he would be forcing it to fight him, but that would be a waste of time.

As for his Warp Station connection options, he could see the Home Base and Citadark Isle were two different destinations. The rest of the Warp Station locations were to bases all over Undermine.

"Citadark Isle… isn't their Home Base?", he asked out loud in his confusion.

"But if Citadark Isle isn't their base… and Undermine is just a mining branch… then where is their Home Base?!"

"Where did you get that card boy?", a familiar malevolent voice sounded off in Michael's left direction.

The red headed teen turned to see Ein walking forward with a single Crobat hovering near him. He approached in his large lab coat with his signature dangling strands of hair in the shape of a lightning bolt. His P*DA was visible on his coat's left sleeve over his wrist.

"You have strayed so far off the rails, and now you've found key card that belongs to one of the highest ranking officers in our reformed syndicate. You need to be stopped before you ruin it for everyone! You will give me that card after our battle!", Ein demanded a stern serious with the white of his eyes hidden behind his shades.

Michael was challenged by Ein, but for once in his life as Pokémon Trainer, he didn't feel compelled to send out a Pokémon battle him immediately. He looked at the card in his hand, then looked at the Warp Station's console to see the connection was currently towards the Pyrite Town Base.

"Lovrina told me you were annoying when you were enemies. I can see why, as the one time we decided not to bother with your options you chose to discover all of this. Do you have any idea how stressful it is on my colleagues and peons when they're being told they're going to face off with the kid who ruined their lives four years ago? With his ferocious and powerful legendary Pokémon?", Ein said casting a veil of guilt on an already confused protagonist.

"What are you saying?", Michael asked unsure of what he is talking about.

"Isn't it obvious, Michael? It was… after all... Your fault!", another familiar malevolent voice echoed behind him suddenly.

He turned to suddenly feel his heart beat heavy with adrenaline when he saw Ardos standing as Michael remembered him so long ago.

The man who remade Cipher stood in his blue faded to grey Cipher elite suit with his shades. His face looked more wrinkled, but his hateful emotions towards Michael were ever present in his expression.

"You did this. You cause all of this. When you shattered my father's dream, you forced so many Orre people, whether they deserved it or not, to slowly die without their source of life support.", Ardos explained as he slowly began approaching Michael.

He was startled and began backing up towards the Warp Station's console. Michael selected the previously locked Home Base option and waited for the Warp Station to establish its connection.

"What?! N-No! Shadow Pokémon is a crime against nature! You can't tell me Greevil's plan to take over the world with Shadow Pokémon is okay! It had nothing to do with Orre's decline!", Michael said in his defense

"Your thoughts and beliefs are forfeit. Cipher was the heart of all of the settlements in the Orre Region. When Cipher was destroyed by your hands, it was the beginning of a slow painful end for this land. Slowly bleeding out until everyone was forced to disappear to the outside world; a cruel world for our people without a home land.", Ardos replied as he continued to step towards him.

"Who do you think arranged Pokémon to be imported here from other regions for new trainers to use? Who do you think built all of these towns and gave this region its name? The wealth Orre had to sustain itself, it was all us."

Michael was silent as his eyes widened with this newly introduced thought. He never contemplated this idea before. The red headed teen's mind couldn't comprehend the true form Cipher's presence in Orre so long ago until today. What he thought was an evil syndicate bent on world domination may have also been the region's life support system in the world they lived in for so long.

A hidden government, a group above nations, a network of puppeteers that worked in secret making sure this new Region would prosper and circulate its economy. This land would have been shaped under Cipher's image. And the people who lived in it were under Cipher's protection this entire time up until the organization was handed over to a worldwide authority.

"You had to fight all of those soldiers to get here, but how do you know they weren't the same friends you were trying to rescue?! Friends we had to repurpose into our new army?", Ein said joining the attack with his Crobat flapping menacingly.

"N-No! I don't believe this! It's not my fault!", Michael said before he began retreating to the base of the Warp Station's stairs.

"You can't run away from a Trainer Battle!", Ein declared before he began to give chase with his Crobat.

Michael sent out his Umbreon to meet Crobat in battle over the stairway as he waited for the tear under the archway to open. Ardos stood at the base of the stairs. A sudden pair of spotlights from a rising pair of Gyrocopters shone forward on the structure. In a flash he could see Ardos's body was actually a hologram held up by a familiar metal skeleton. It was actually a Doppelganger invention Ein has deployed, using Michael's inventions against himself yet again. Despite not being Ardos, it felt like he was actually speaking to him through the holographic puppet.

"We will meet again very, very soon…", Ardos left him with the ominous warning as he looked up at him with a silent scowl.

Seizing the moment the rift developed itself; Michael withdrew his Umbreon and jumped into the tear.

He made it through the tear to suddenly fall down a flight of stairs with his eyes closed. He felt the pain of each step bumping against his face. His Snag Machine almost slipped off of his left arm. He stopped sliding in the middle of the stairway.

Michael's mind was in shambles with what Ein and Ardos had told him. He tried to remember the faces of the Peons he, Jovi, and Duking defeated on their way to the Warp Station. He could only make out the portions of their faces not covered by the shades of their helmets. It was too hard to tell who could be people he once knew or people he could never have known. But he was too afraid to imagine Megg and the others would be brainwashed into willingly joining Cipher just as the nurse did in her replica Pokémon Center.

Michael tried to pick himself up but he fell forward down the rest of the steps. He felt his right foot suddenly twist and get sprained in his struggle to keep himself outright.

"Earrgghh! Ow!…", Michael cried out as he sat on the tiled metal floor, holding his right foot as he slowly got his bearings.

He could see he was in some sort of secret base. But the room he was in didn't leave any clue as to where this base was. When his senses returned, he could see his surroundings. Around the Warp Station he could see a garden with a myriad of different flowers accompanied by the sound of rushing water nearby.

"….Where is this?", he asked out loud basking in the beautiful surrounding sea of different colored flowers.

Even with the belief in himself and what he thought happened long ago was shaken, he still managed to pick himself up to take in his current environment.

For some reason, he felt his mind calmed by this peaceful room. Unlike any Cipher instillation he's been in, this is the most peaceful by far. He smelled the scent of roses, daisies, orchids, and a variety sweet smelling flowers he has never even seen before. It was like a festival of scents in his nostrils. The sound of the smooth streams of water that poured through the room's tiny rivers stilled his troubled mind.

For once he felt tranquility, and his disturbed, disheartened being recovered from the trauma Ardos and Ein subjected him to by their disturbing revelations about Cipher's true purpose in Orre and the part he took in dooming its future without its governing organization.

Then he started hearing steps coming down the Warp Station behind him. Michael swiftly turned around to see who was there, but nobody was there. The Warp Station's archway was empty of any warping tear in reality.

He suddenly felt an eerie presence behind him. Every hair on his body was suddenly raised in fear before he suddenly felt a sharp unexpected blow to the back of his neck. He lost consciousness and blacked out on the floor. The last thing he could see was the ceiling and a pair of unfamiliar eyes looking down upon on him.

When he woke up, he was sitting on his hover cycle's seat with his face pressed against the metal of his steering bar. He was outside of Pyrite Town's emptied gateway. He could see Jovi's bike wasn't there, so she must be on her way to Gateon Port with Duking by now. It was currently the afternoon and the skies were in an overcast.

"…What… happened?... my head…", Michael said out loud, although remembering he got in the back of his neck he can feel the ache in his head from the multiple falls he took.

He had his hand over his forehead, rubbing under his headband and running his hands through his face. Michael could see that he must have been thrown back on to the desert when he was found out and likely apprehended with a swift knockout blow.

"…. But why am I here?... Was that even real?", Michael said completely confused by what just happened.

He checked his pockets to discover Evice's Key Card was missing. They must have confiscated it after he blacked out.

"How could they capture me than throw me back out here like a Magikarp?! That can't be what happened, Ardos must be toying with me at this point….. I couldn't find Megg…", Michael said suddenly lamenting his failure to find who they lost.

"We came all that way and we couldn't find any of the people they captured… sigh… at least Duking made it out…"

Michael looked down in defeat contemplating how things could have gone differently before remembering the ONBS building. He turned to see it still standing in a now empty town in the middle of nowhere. Its antenna dish still ceased to move.

Michael inspected the now unlocked ONBS building. The signs of a struggle were apparent throughout the whole building as he came to Nett's quarters on the roof. There he turned on the screen on the wall to see the grim truth about where Bitt's allegiance lies.

"We have reached an agreement with the boy. Requesting permission to retrieve individuals for relocation protocol tonight…", read the final ominous decipher from Secc.

At this point, Michael could only turn off the lights on his way out of the town. The windmill could no longer spin itself beside the gorge and the town has been officially left a ghost town until such time things would change for the better.

"Next stop, Gateon Port…", Michael said to himself starting up his cycle and keeping his spirit intact as he prepares for the next inevitable encounter with Cipher's hierarchs.

The words Ein and Ardos left him with still remained as a thought in his mind. He spent his time contemplating how it all happened and how it all went wrong even if it was deemed the right thing to do. No matter the consequence, Orre's Champion knew that he cannot abide an organization bent on producing Shadow Pokémon, let alone planning to use them against the world.


	12. Episode 8 Part 1 of 2

Michael arrived at the gateway to Gateon Port. He parked beside the repaired welcome sign and made his way down the stairway to the ground level of the rest of the seaside town. Immediately upon passing the stair, he could began hearing a vehicles approaching from the direction of the forest. Curious, he passed back up the stairs to look out beyond the gateway.

"Looks like Seth has convinced Kaminko and Chobin to join us…". Michael discovered seeing the familiar vehicles in the distance.

Although he couldn't see Seth's vehicle, he could recognize Dr. Kaminko's vintage motorcar and hauling trailer behind it. Coming into view, he could see a second vehicle beside the motorcar also belonging to Dr. Kaminko. It was a flatbed hover truck with Robo Kyogre strapped on its flat surface. In a surprising turn, but shouldn't be such a surprise in retrospect, Michael could see Chobin's Robo Groudon was also taken along behind Robo Kyogre.

"Michael! You're here!", Jovi's voice echoed followed by footsteps coming up the stairs.

The red headed teen turned when he heard his sister's voice. He was met with his not-so-little sister suddenly embracing him with her arms around his back. She held him as she jumped for joy and smiled at him. Michael laughed and gave a smile back before she proceeded to ask him upon releasing him.

"What happened? Did you get to beat Cipher's boss yet? Is it over?", The blue haired girl questioned with a curious expression.

"Well… no… not really.", Michael answered shaking his head with his smile now halved.

"Whaaat? Why? What happened?", Jovi queried once again with a surprised look on her face.

"I'll explain later. Let me see our survivors. Where is everybody?", he asked looking about the town. He could see a few people were standing at the Krabby Club and a handful were guarding the Krabby Club district while small numbers of Trainers wandered around the pier.

"The Krabby Club is where a lot of people are at. Others are sleeping in the Lighthouse and the Pokémon Center. Even Fateen is making herself home at Makan's Parts Shop!", she explained.

"Fateen?! I thought she left on her boat!", Michael expressed his surprise.

"Her boat got sabotaged! Look in the pier!", Jovi said pointing her finger at the water way in the center of the town.

Michael squint his eyes to see parts of a small house on a small boat drifting back and forth in the water. It appears she could never leave even if he wanted to now. The debris also looks like it could be disruptive to Robo Kyogre's path out to sea, so some cleaning might need to be done.

"Do you think Cipher did that?", she offered a likely explanation.

"I wouldn't doubt it…", Michael answered his honest opinion before turning about face to see Dr. Kaminko and company are just arriving at the gateway.

The noise Dr. Kaminko made with his motorcar reverberated throughout the scene and the flatbed hover truck parked itself near the absent minded genius with his towering white mesa top of hair. From the motorcar Dr. Kaminko and his aid, Chobin, could be seen stepping out of the car.

Michael and Jovi were about to approach to greet them before they suddenly startled to see Chobin Bot following Chobin out of the car. The siblings froze in hesitation before Chobin waved at them saying it's alright. The two breathed a sigh of relief knowing they won't have to face a mad Proto Robo Trainer anytime soon.

"You two children have any idea when this is over? I'd prefer to be in my manor working on our newest original design for a truly superb Robo Pokémon right now. But that man you sent us convinced us to pick up everything and be here.", Dr. Kaminko explained adjusting his swirling glasses as he approached Michael and Jovi.

"Chobin agrees! Chobin wishes to test the scrap invention he made on household appliances!", Chobin added as he guided Chobin Bot by his side.

Michael began explained why they needed to be united with the rest of Orre's remaining resistance in Gateon Port and nobody could know for sure when this crisis is over. The doctor was not amused but he liked the notion of having his inventions put to use fighting Cipher once again. Chobin could only imagine himself bravely piloting Robo Groudon to battle Neo Cipher forces himself.

From the flatbed truck driver's cabin, the familiar magician emerged. Seth stepped out and close the door behind him before approaching the group with his tall stoic expression.

"We are all here now. Every free Orrean is in holding Gateon Port right now.", Seth stated once he joined conversation before giving an odd eye at Chobin's mechanical replica.

Michael nodded at him. Seth nodded back before he turned about face towards the Robo Groudon and Robo Kyogre.

"I suppose we should make quickly ourselves at home for now should we?", the inventor suggested looking back at their cargo.

From there, the group worked to carry Dr. Kaminko and Chobin's stuff to Makan's Parts shop before bothering with the heavy bulky Robo Pokémon. As Michael, Jovi, Chobin, and Dr. Kaminko carried boxes back and forth from the shop, Fateen descended down the stairs to see the red headed teen when he made it back with a round of metal boxes full of materials in his arms.

"Ah Michael! It is good to see you're still here.", Fateen greeted as she slowly stepped down with a cane in hand.

"Fateen! Have you really been hiding here the entire time?", Michael asked as he put down a box on Makan's old counter.

Fateen and Michael took the time to talk about what happened since the last time they met in Pyrite Town not too long ago. Jovi, Chobin, and Dr. Kaminko continued unpacking while Chobin Bot idled outside of the shop on guard duty like he is programmed to.

"When I left Pyrite Town, my plan was set off in my boat I had stored in Gateon Port's local storage depots. But the moment I pushed my boat into the water, it fell apart", The elderly lady explained.

"I could never have foreseen it, but it appears either my boat was poorly assembled or someone deliberately sabotaged it. So I made myself home in the second floor of this building. It felt safer to stay up there. And honestly I found it quite fun to be sleeping in an abandoned home again. Brings back memories of my youth in a more adventurous time…", she admitted with a nod towards her old days.

Michael was about to ask, but Fateen cut him off.

"Don't ask about my life's story. But what you must know is that while I was here, I felt a presence unlike any I have ever felt…", she explained before looking past the doorway to see who might be listening.

"Wasn't Neo Cipher in control of this town until Seth arrived this morning?", the red headed teen asked as he was confused as to what she could possibly mean.

"They were here, but they were only so many in numbers. When I looked out the window I'd see one or two patrolling soldiers at a time. But last night I thought I saw what looked like….", Fateen hesitated to speak.

"Looked like?", Michael asked leaning his head forward in anticipation to what she was about to say.

"I… I can't be sure, but I felt the presence of… a power much like the power that guarded Agate Village's grove.", she said before she turned to see Jovi approaching through the doorway.

"Um… Are you sure?", Michael asked with great skepticism and disbelief in the concept.

"Now I don't know for sure… but I feel the presence of something familiar… waiting for something…. Hiding...…", Fateen explained as she looked about the room in her curious uneasy nature.

"What? What'cha talking about?", Jovi holding a cardboard box queried with Fateen waving her arms in hesitation.

"Ssshhh! Don't tell anyone. I can't know anything for certain even though I am a fortune teller. But deep in my bones I feel something more than just Cipher keeping watch…", Fateen further explained.

Michael nodded in deep thought over what this means. If there truly was a Forest Guardian hiding in Gateon Port then that must imply Celebi may be nearby. But nothing could be known for sure at this time with only an elderly fortune teller to provide virtual evidence to this claim. The thought quickly evacuated itself when a familiar presence was at the door.

"Michael? Are you ready to clear the way for…. Fateen?", Seth noticed Fateen's presence with Michael and Jovi turning their heads towards the doorway.

"Oh? You look familiar dear… have we met?", Fateen asked the cloaked man who's curious and surprised expression reverted to a stoic plain expression at the sight of her.

"We've met once. I was a wanderer before Cipher first recruited me to be a scientist. And I came to you once asking what my destiny was…"

"And what is your name, dear?", the pink haired elderly lady questioned once again, prompting an unamused response from the magician.

"Seth… ma'am.", Seth answered before walking away from the scene.

Michael and Jovi looked away from the door towards Fateen to see her reaction to Seth's introduction. She pursed her lips as she tried to remember such a character.

"Perhaps it's my age finally catching up to me… but I can't remember anyone named Seth… then again I can't remember a lot of my customers… perhaps that's my age catching up to me too. Ha ha!", Fateen concluded with a laugh.

Later, Michael joined Seth in helping unchain and carry the two Robo Pokémon down the stairs. For this task, Michael took his Hariyama and Sharpedo from the PC in the Pokémon Center to replace his Ariados and Magmar. As he made his way back to meet with Seth, he was met by a few of Gateon Port's refugees. It was the party from Pyrite Town.

"Michael! You made it!", Ostix the female chaser and appointed leader of Pyrite Town's last resistance.

"Aye it's great to see we've all made it!", Monar the sailor expressed his gratitude.

"Yeah yeah, thanks kid.", Rider Dert expressed his gratitude too albeit less enthusiastic than the buff sailor.

Labet was not there to say thanks, but it was alright in Michael's eyes to see some appreciation from people who would otherwise likely turned into Cipher Peons if it wasn't for Seth's intervention.

"You really should thank Seth instead to be honest. I was thousands of feet underground knee-deep in a newly discovered Cipher Base to really do anything. So I messaged Seth to come rescue you guys because I knew I probably wouldn't have the time.", Michael admitted.

The group looked at each other before Michael pointed them to Seth standing on the elevated ground of the gateway looking out into the sunset. The group turned back to the red headed teen after seeing their rescuer.

"Well either way, we're with you all the way, Michael! We'll make it together! And there aint nothing Cipher can do when we're all together now!", Ostix declared as she referred to the number of Trainers now in Gateon Port.

"Yeah! Be sure to tell it to everyone in the Krabby Club!", suggested Michael.

"Will do!", Ostix replied before leaving with the group towards the Krabby shaped building on the edge of town.

Immediately after the moment, Michael made his way up to the gateway. There he proceeded to send out his Hariyama to handle Robo Kyogre's weight. Seth stood by as he watched Michael's Hariyama handle the Robo Kyogre's weight down the steps.

"Sharpedo! Clear the water of those boat pieces!", Michael issued a command to another one of his former Shadow Pokémon.

Sharpedo splashed down into the water with jaws wide open as the floating splinters of wood and trash were swiped and torn to shreds. Large pieces became smaller until Michael's Sharpedo grew tired of handling and ripping wood, metal, and other trash through her teeth. Michael saw that the water was clear enough for Robo Kyogre to be placed by one of the two nearby piers.

Sharpedo was returned to her ball as well as Hariyama to his. The vehicle was ready for Michael's inevitable departure, but it didn't feel like it was the right time to go yet.

"I still have things to do…", Michael said to himself looking back at the town around him.

"I need to be sure we're prepared for anything… but part of me also wants to see our home one last time…"

"Everything ship shape here?", Seth asked seeing the debris has been cleared and the folded up Robo Kyogre has been placed.

"I could go to Citadark Isle right now if I wanted… but I don't want to leave without making sure everyone here is safe together.", Michael explained to him his dilemma.

"Well Eagun and Duking are holding up at the Krabby Club. Perhaps you can meet with them and talk about your plan?", Seth suggested with his right eyebrow raised.

"Right… but I also want to see what's left of my home at least once…", Michael admitted thinking back to the footage of the Neo Cipher Peon Squad attacking and entering their home.

"Oh? …. Oh… I see.", Seth answered with his blue eyes fixated on the bobbing Robo Kyogre in the water.

"Can Jovi come too?", Jovi asked, startling both Michael and Seth from behind.

The red headed teen and the former scientist turned to see Jovi with Mimi and Pluplu on her shoulders.

"Oh?! Oh of course little sis. We can both go see what we can salvage from our home and save anything worth saving if they haven't completely taken everything…", Michael said.

"I didn't mean our house, I meant to Citadark Isle!", Jovi corrected him with a smile, prompting Michael to suddenly retract his statement.

"What?! Uh, er, I think you'll have to sit this one out Jovi. Citadark Isle may not be this Cipher's true base, but it isn't any the less dangerous. Besides, the Robo Kyogre's cockpit only has room for one.", said Michael.

"Ooh… oh alright. I guess that's just what you have to do huh? It's okay Michael. I'll stay here and keep everyone safe while you're gone.", Jovi assured her brother, prompting another response from him.

"I didn't say I was going right now! I still need to make sure everything is secured. If I can find anything worth taking in our home we might as well keep it. I don't know of the schematics for the Purify Chamber was saved or destroyed, but we have to at least try to find it while I'm there.", further explained Michael.

"Ooh?! Alright, well could I come with you there then?", Jovi asked with a sincere smile.

"Of course, Jovi. Let's get going now so that we'll be back by sundown. I might not even go Citadark Isle tonight, who knows.", concluded Michael before turning to Seth who was lost in thought for a moment.

"You!", Michael called out Seth.

"Erm, yes?", answered the gray haired young man with his undivided attention on Michael.

"Hold the fort while we're gone, alright? Chobin will probably want his Robo Groudon down here too so pick that up if you can, okay?", Michael made a request to him once again.

"I will do my best. And I'll get to move that thing down the steps too. Though I hope it's insured...", answered the magician before catching the attention of Chobin strolling with a small box shaped device in his hands

"You so much as scrape Robo Groudon, Chobin will be so very angry!", Chobin said out loud to the magician.

Everyone laughed before Michael and his sister made their way back home. Seth stood watching them leave on their hover bikes past the gateway before he approached the Robo Groudon, unchained and ready to be moved off of its place.

The siblings went down their familiar paths through the entangled forest trails for half an hour before they finally made it home. The sight they beheld was, not admirable to say the least. As they ascended the small step of stairs they were able to see the remains.

"… It's completely destroyed….", Michael expressed his sorrow to see the destruction laid before him.

Smoke was rising from rubble and electricity sparked at random places in the interior of the lab building. The lab wing was a mess, but the residential wing was left nearly unscathed in comparison to the thousands of pieces of glass and metal.

Michael stood in silence for a moment trying to look past the rubble to find a path to his workshop's trap door. Jovi stood beside her brother looking towards the once familiar grounds they once called their home. Words could not express how they felt.

"I'm glad Dad isn't here to see this…", Michael expressed his slight relief in knowing he'd never have to see his late father's reaction to what has transpired here.

"Yeah… but if he were here, what would he do?", Jovi asked looking to her brother with sad eyes.

"I think he'd try to find everything he can… everything important for the future.", Michael said looking towards where the Purify Chamber used to be, thinking back to the days he'd see his father working nonstop to construct the miraculous machine.

"I'm going to find the schematics to the Purify Chamber. Everything our family has invented is stored in an archive server. If we're lucky, they left it alone and left a terminal like my PC downstairs intact."

"Can I look for my Pokémon Trozei mangas?", asked the blue haired sister peeking back at the residential wing.

"Heh, of course. And if you see find anything else please don't hesitate to take it too. Like our clothes.",

"Okay! But I'm not touching your drawers. That stuff is yours, okay big bro?", said Jovi with a laugh as she adjusted her yellow backpack ready to take on more cargo.

Michael agreed with chuckle. He made a plan to fetch his garments and belongings after he would re-explore the ground floor of the destroyed lab and find what he needed in the underground workshop.

Walking over more piles of rubble over charred tiled floors, he approached the door to Professor Krane's old workplace. Though the automatic metal door was torn wide open, the voice in the security systems com's system was still operational.

"P-PLEASE… SPEAK PA-ASSWoorrrr…", the security system couldn't finish it's line.

Michael didn't need to say it anymore, but he was curious what would happen if he did one last time.

"Extra Dimension?", he said to the small microphone beside the door.

"A-A-A-AAAAAAAAAAA…", the security system couldn't finish its programmed lines again as a small spark let out from the door.

Though it was sad, it was always little amusing to Michael to hear the electronic voice stutter even when it was fully functional.

"What mess…", observed the red headed teen seeing the scattered machine parts and glass all over the old workshop

The shelves were destroyed, and the inventions he had left have disappeared. He could see pile of rubble sinking into the trap door to the stairs. Michael took the time to haul each metal bar and discarded tile out of the way to grant him access to his hidden workshop.

Upon stepping down the stairs he could see the signs of a Pokémon Battle between the lab's last care takers and the invading Cipher forces. Craters and acid marks were left on the walls and floors.

Looking past the signs, he could see his PC was still intact on his desk. The GTS Simulator was taken however, but near its place was a Professor Krane's P*DA. Michael approached it to see that it was open to Krane's email messenger for a message he couldn't finish.

To Michael, titled, "Emergency!"

"They're up above! They just broke through the front doors. Aferd is readying his Pokémon but Lily and I know we don't stand a chance. Michael, if they get us, please remember, 112138425 is the", the message stopped abruptly. Michael gazed at the message in silence for a moment.

"112138435? That's not the password to the server… what could it be for?", Michael wondered as he lifted the P*DA in his hands.

Michael closed the P*DA and put it in the Key Items pocket in his waist bag to take with him. For the possibility if seeing the Pokémon Professor again, he made sure to keep it with him.

He then went to his PC and tried to boot it up. It took longer than usual, but it successfully powered itself on and displayed Michael's desktop. He navigated his way to the shared storage files and looked desperately for the schematics files. Once he found the locked link to the server, he discovered that the connection to the schematics storage was severed.

"Oh? How are we supposed to get the schematics now?", he said trying to think of how to work around this obstacle.

"The server itself is underground… I'd have to check if any part of the cable is broken. Then I'd have to repair it and check it again over and over again to see if it would work or of its burnt out or…. Sigh…", Michael expressed his frustration with the broken technology.

Michael searched the surrounding documents. He looked far and wide for any alternative place in the shared data storage to see if he could find anything at all. It wasn't until he noticed a locked file belonging to his father that he thought he might have begun stumbling upon something. He was surprised to see the password left behind by Professor Krane was the exact password to this document out of everything. Inside were documents on the late professor's Shadow Pokémon Purification Research progress prior to the finalization of the Purify Chamber's concept along with small entries on the HQ Lab's history Michael has never read. Taking a moment, he began to read.

Notes of the Father, Entry #1. X Month, XX Day

"After our severance from our previous 'employer', I knew that our purpose here would need to be redefined. Professor Krane agrees that setting ourselves up our own foundation would work well enough. Whatever data we had on Pokémon behaviors in the wild would serve as our foundation to establish ourselves as a science facility freed from Cipher."

Notes of the Father, Entry #2. X Month, XX Day

"The world thinks we simply study their behavior, but Krane and my dear Lily know that our true purpose here is to keep another Shadow Pokémon incident from ever happening again. My design for arm-mounted Snag Machine was stolen and the two crude mechs they had me make have never been used. I don't know what happened to them, but I will never live this down."

Notes of the Father, Entry #3 X Month, XX Day

"I will find a way to make our own method of unlocking a Shadow Pokémon's heart. I swear I will leave behind a method other than Agate Village's fragile Relic that could easily be destroyed. I will research what it takes to Purify a Shadow Pokémon and I will see to it the world can still be saved."

Michael took a moment to realize the implications of these notes. There was another series of entries he could read, but he had to stop to think about what this meant. His Father, Lily, even Professor Krane knew something about the family's history Michael didn't... that or Michael couldn't remember.

"My father… worked for Cipher?"

The Science behind Purification, Entry #1. X Month, XX Day

"When I investigated the shrine in Agate Village, I couldn't tell at first what it was about the Relic Stone that held its power. It wasn't until I met an old man named Eagun that explained that the Relic Stone dated back to the ancient days of the Orre Region. From the past, survived a single stone tablet that stated the Relic's basic purpose. 'In Agate's mystic Relic, Celebi's power shelters. A heart imprisoned by shadows, it's last door shall be opened by the power within.' That means that at some point there was once a Shadow Pokémon incident even in the ancient past. But what happened? The most native people in Orre are from Agate, but there have never been any lore keepers to keep a record throughout any generation."

The Science behind Purification, Entry #2. X Month, XX Day

"Celebi and the Relic's method of Purification is essentially forcing a Shadow Pokémon on the verge of purification to relive its happiest moments in its past. How far in the past, it's impossible to tell. But the concept doesn't sound too foreign. Essentially all the Purification process is, to put it simply, making your Shadow Pokémon remember how to be happy. Bonded with its trainer, the Purifier needs to help its Pokémon learn how to feel happy again and create a sense of peace and happiness in the heart. The concept of Shadow Pokémon is appalling and sad, therefore I must find a more efficient method to stimulate Pokémon into reliving their happiest memories."

The Science Behind Purification, Entry #3. X Month, XX Day

"I originally thought about creating my own Relic, but I quickly shot that idea down when I realized I could never create a replica without Celebi's blessing. But falling back on what I know about the science behind the Purification process, I learned that calming down a Pokémon by calling its name helps release its heart by a significant amount. The rogue trainer that stole my Snag Machine, Wes, shared information with me before leaving with his friend to see the world. I didn't bother asking for my Snag Machine back. He is more than worthy of keeping it as he saved all the Shadow Pokémon Cipher made during the incident, excluding the ones that didn't survive the early tests. Ho-oh even gave him his blessing, so I've heard. Taking what he told me to heart, I have made a theory. If a group of individuals synchronize their hearts around a Shadow Pokémon to express their feelings of friendship and wishes to see it get better, would it speed up the Purification process? Would a friend's belief in the power withheld in the Shadow Pokémon be enough to save it?"

Michael thought back to how the Purify Chamber worked. All along, the Pokémon he would put in Sets around a Shadow Pokémon were synchronized with the beat of a song that helped calm a Shadow Pokémon over time. He never thought about it until now.

Methods of Purification, Entry #1. X Month, XX Day

"Though effective, I refuse to believe Celebi and its power is the only force on Earth capable of instantly purifying a Shadow Pokémon. In some cases, I could compare calming a Shadow Pokémon like calming down a child. If you were to sing a lullaby to a child like my daughter Jovi, she would stop crying and calm herself down and sleep to the sound of her loving mother, in this case, my dear Lily's voice.

Music can be powerful tool to soothe the hearts and minds of some beings. Needless to say, it can affect people in such a way as well. Bringing back memories of different times for both humans and Pokémon are possible with certain music arrangements. Would it be possible to make a song that could calm a Shadow Pokémon down and let it think back to its joyful, more innocent days? Ergo, purifying it on the spot? Could there be a Pokémon out there capable of just that? I wonder…"

Methods of Purification, Entry #2. X Month, XX Day

"I've begun making the designs for a machine. Based on the SIM Battle invention and the PC Storage Unit, this machine will hold a virtual space for a Shadow Pokémon to be held listening to calming music while being surrounded by Pokémon friends who can care and keep company to it and gradually open its heart. When the Purifier is in the virtual space, he can be there to initiate a final ceremony for unlocking the heart just as the purification ceremonies are held at Agate Village's Relic. I believe this may be the answer I'm looking for."

Final Notes, Entry #1. X Month, XX Day

"Something I realized years late. In order to confiscate future Shadow Pokémon from criminals there must be another method of forcefully removing them from their grasp. I've begun working on a second Snag Machine. Cipher will likely distribute Pokémon to more Trainers and criminals in their next attempt, possibly in overwhelming numbers just to make it so much harder to contain. I am hoping Wes could return should the need arise for a Snagger to steal back all Shadow Pokémon to save. But I haven't heard from him for years. I can't seem to reach them. I hope they're doing alright.

At this point, the HQ Lab has grown strong enough to sustain itself, and through the time I noticed how old my son had grown. My son is growing to be a such a smart boy. He told me he wants to be a Pokémon Trainer someday soon. I told him to keep at it in the Battle SIM training sessions upstairs and his studies. He understood and he's been taking classes from Krane and my dear Lily every week. I'm so proud of him. His future is bright if he keeps it up."

Michael took a moment to smile a little at this note before he continued reading. Unfortunately he knew how this story was going to end.

Final Notes, Entry #2. X Month, XX Day

"I discovered something else one day as I was buying parts from Makan's Shop. When I drove back from Gateon Port, I suddenly began feeling something very wrong with me. It hurt. It hurt very much. When I went to get it checked, the doctors discovered it was something incurable. They tried their best but their options dwindled to nothing. It hurt even more when I saw my wife's reaction to the news. I hate this feeling so much.

I'm here struggling to keep myself upright as I type this. Lily and Krane are the only ones who know about this. I dare not tell my children about this yet. I doubt Jovi could understand, but I'm too afraid to see Michael's reaction to my condition. I don't want to see his spirit crushed. He has a shining future ahead of him as Pokémon Trainer. I don't want to traumatize him by letting him know my days are numbered. My son, please forgive me."

Final Notes, Entry #3. X Month, XX Day

"Michael's 13th birthday is coming up. I found him something I hope he will love. I hope it will be enough keep his smile after I'm gone.

It's an Eevee, a young strong Pokémon brimming with potential; for a young Trainer brimming with his own potential. I hope it will protect him through his trails ahead. I know in other regions they have their starter sets of Pokémon, but I want Michael to have a wider choice of potential paths in his future as a Trainer.

He is my pride and joy and I can't be more proud to see him so enthusiastic to get his first Pokémon...

I'm also almost done with the Snag Machine but I need… I need more time. My head feels so light… and yet so heavy."

Michael nodded with his eyes glistening in the light of the screen. He still remembers vividly how happy he was to receive Umbreon as an Eevee from his father. He was also reminded how clueless he was to his father's condition despite the warning signs.

Michael remembers his dad hugging him and telling him how proud he was to have been his father when he was given his Eevee. At that moment, Michael was truly happy and ecstatic for the future ahead.

But the kid he used to be had his heart shattered when he saw him pass away before him in a bed not too many days later. Though it took time, Michael eventually found the resolve to consider training other Pokémon than his father's Eevee he treasured so much. Despite being an official Trainer after he was gifted his first Pokémon, he refused to set out and explore for new Pokémon for the longest time. The SIM Battle sessions were his pass time and it wasn't until Cipher kidnapped Professor Krane that he finally began his journey, taking the memories of his father with him in the form of the Snag Machine and his beloved little Eevee.

There was one last file. It was a small memoir from his father. Michael opened it up to discover it was an audio recording of his father with a portrait of him to represent him. The red headed teen listened as he looked at the nostalgic memento of his father smiling back at him.

"I'm recording this tape because I know at some point the truth about our family will come out. It's true, we were a group that got caught up with Cipher. Upon being awarded my diploma I was offered a high paying job in Orre for a corporation building their own cities. We would go on to make a PC system based on Bill's work in Kanto, without his permission however as Cipher requested we would keep our work secret along with any mention of their operations.

We were responsible for a majority of Orre's technology. My dear Lily and I lead projects and studied different fields of research for Cipher. Krane would study under my watch with the rest of the branch I lead. I didn't grow suspicious of our goals, even when they asked us to review what we know about Poke Balls and how they work. Then they wanted us to hypothesize and experiment with a Poke Ball's safety lock on their designated Pokémon signatures and how to bypass them. They told us they were working on a way to retrieve stolen Pokémon from criminals in their territories. Eventually that research lead to the creation of my Snag Machines, given to Cipher, but I never seen them used on the field...

Sigh…. It wasn't until… the incident in the woods… that I took the initiative to investigate Cipher's other branches. And there I finally realized the truth….

With a tip from one of Krane's friends, I found and tried to enter one of the industrial buildings under Ein's administration. They wouldn't let me in without the proper ID clearance. I demanded that they let me in, but someone with my level of security clearance was not allowed.

So then I returned with a stolen ID Card and a disguise to look like Hildon and made my way inside. And inside, I saw… these Pokémon that behaved so erratically and viciously. They were kept in cages with their eyes twitching and locking on me."

He coughed a moment before returning to continue his story through the recording as Michael listened.

"I saw how they made them… They weren't innocent Pokémon anymore, they were weapons. Their hearts were closed and all they knew was how to fight. And as I stood watching a video on a monitor demonstrating their power, Ein discovered me and walked up to me, watching the video with me as he caught me by surprise.

'Incredible, isn't it?', he said to me as I felt my heart nearly jump through my throat.

I didn't say anything as I was too scared to even speak in that moment knowing that I wasn't supposed to be there. He continued saying how incredible the Shadow Pokémon project is, but he stated the common problem with the early batches Shadow Pokémon they've produced was that they didn't live very long after they were set loose in an attack under Hyper Mode. To keep them alive and useful longer, he explained he had minimize their true power in their newer experiments from that point. The only Shadow Move they could only know was Shadow Rush at the very minimum while he and his pupil tried to figure out how to stabilize a Shadow Pokémon enough so that they don't expire to their own immense energy.

He also told me how, with this project, their high demand for new Pokémon to experiment with. But since there is so little Wild Pokémon to be found in Orre, Cipher had arranged trade routes between regions that imported new Pokémon to trainers and traders. Some Pokémon would be given to Cipher directly but most would be given to the people who lived in Orre that lacked their own Pokémon. Then he turned to me and told me something that haunted me for the longest time. He threatened that if I ever told anyone outside of Cipher's inner circle about what really happens in this underground organization… that my family and any memory of us will disappear; while I would be kept as their puppet to make more technology for them to exploit. I was to keep working and never question anything again. I don't know how but he knew who I was even with my disguise.

…From there on out, I never returned to that factory… I was so afraid of what they would do if I didn't fall within their lines. My family was in constant danger, so I had to work no matter how hard I looked to find a way out. Our research changed from Snag Machines to automated production facilities and holding tanks. All the while I could sense my Snag Machines being used by Gonzap and his gang supplying Cipher with more Pokémon to experiment with.

It wasn't until one of Team Snagem's most skilled Snaggers betrayed the gang and left to eventually destroy Cipher's dominion over Orre with the help of a girl who could see the aura of Shadow Pokémon. In that time Cipher was defeated, I was able to escape with my family and friends and whatever colleagues under my wings that didn't want to stay around for International Police to arrest. The remnants of Cipher didn't let us go without a fight however, but we made it through and founded the HQ Lab later with the money we could run off with. All the while, I made sure Lily would keep Michael and Jovi safe in the whole ordeal.

To make up for what we've done, Professor Krane and I planned and designed the Purify Chamber in our time in the new HQ Lab as well as a second Snag Machine to ensure a method of stealing Shadow Pokémon from Cipher is available in the right hands. Makan and I made a deal, he and I agreed to keep the schematics of the Purify Chamber hidden in a secret compartment under his vault. Not IN the vault, mind you, UNDER the vault. *Hacking Cough!* …. Maybe partially in front of the vault in the floor...", explained the sick professor before his illness made itself apparent in the recording.

Michael's eyes widened at this new important insight from his father. He could never have guessed Perr's grandfather would have been trusted to hold schematics for his father's important marvel of his ingenuity.

"Everything we've done up until this point has been for the future, not only to make up for the part we played as part of Cipher. Someday, Cipher will return…. Professor Krane and I know this, and I'm afraid in my condition… I won't be there to see what happens next… but…"

Suddenly the sound of an automatic metal door opened in the recording.

"… Dad?", Michael's voice echoed in the recording much to Michael's surprise in the present basement.

"Ah?… Yes? What is it?", asked dad.

"What are you doing up so late?", Michael asked.

"I'd ask you the same thing... did you have a nightmare?"

"No… No actually Eevee had a nightmare. He wouldn't stop crying so I brought him over here in my arms. I wanted to ask you what I should do when your Pokémon has a nightmare.", said Michael in the past, triggering a flashback to Michael in the present.

"Is he crying out now? He doesn't look too bad.", said Dad as he looked down at the calm Eevee in his arms.

"He was so restless a while ago… why is he so calm now?"

Eevee yawned and rubbed his nose into the pit of Michael's right elbow as the Pokémon kept himself curved and fitted comfily into his trainer's arms.

"Oh Michael, being a trainer is like being a parent sometimes. Sometimes all your Pokémon need are hugs and the warmth of their trainer's heart to calm them down. Let your Eevee snuggle up next to you a little tonight. Give it some space to sleep. I promise that will work."

"I never would have thought of that…"

"Being a Trainer isn't always gonna be how you'd expect it. SIM Battle training and home schooling is one thing, but being an actual trainer is another. Open your heart to your Pokémon, and they'll open their hearts to you…"

After hearing his advice, Michael looked back down at his Eevee snuggling into his black sleeves to see how happy it was. The little furry baby Eevee started sounding a tiny snore. The loose red spiky haired young trainer smiled with a warm fuzzy feeling in his heart. He held his first Pokémon carefully and snug in his arms as he turned toward the doorway.

"Thank you Dad. See ya tomorrow.", said Michael bidding him goodnight before leaving the room, concluding Michael's flashback of the scene in the recording.

"Goodnight Michael… oh… this thing was recording all of that? …. Eh… no harm done… in the end I know Michael will be a great Trainer if he really puts himself into it... if he's hearing this then he's old enough to know the truth about where we came from."

There was a moment of silence in the recording. Michael's Dad wheezed a little and coughed before he started speaking again.

"… Maybe it's a long shot, but I wonder how well Michael would be at using my Snag Machine… Maybe he could even open a Shadow Pokémon's heart… maybe…. I guess there's no harm in modeling it after his arm… but I don't want to give him the burden he's just a boy… my boy… I'm so proud of him… I'm getting too tired for this…"

A long pause followed in the recording before Dad finally concluded….

"I think…. I think I've said enough…. For Orre… for the world… I leave behind my legacy… Goodnight."

"Goodnight… Dad…", said Michael as he wiped a single tear from his cheek.

He closed every window on his PC before shutting it off one last time. He took a moment to ponder his words. Upon looking at his glowing Snag Machine in the dark, he realized that a part of his father has always been with him even during his adventure long ago. The director left his legacy, and in doing so his legacy saved the world. His legacy was his triumph.

The teen sat up from his chair and took one last look at the mess before emerging from the underground shelter to see Jovi standing over the rubble on the lawn with Mimi and Pluplu watching on her shoulders.

"Got what you need? I got my things! It's amazing, they barely touched our stuff!", Jovi said with a happy tone.

"Yep...", Michael nodded with a smile towards the good news.

Jovi noticed the remains of a single stream of a tear having rolled down her brother's cheek. Concerned, she leaned in to get a better look as he stood.

"Have you been crying? … Did you find something down there that made you cry? Do you need a hug?", Jovi asked offering one with arms open.

Michael explained what he had found below thanks to Professor Krane's secret password to the file folder hidden deep in a large library of data. Jovi understood and proceeded to hug her brother without his request. Jovi embraced her brother for a moment as Michael appreciated the warmth to his heavy heart. Michael hugged back for a second before he released, saying that that they should start moving out as soon as possible, seeing as the sky is already growing dark.

"Let's get going… It's probably dangerous to stay here at night…", Michael suggested.

"But aren't you going to grab your stuff too?", Jovi asked looking back at the front door of their living quarters.

"Oh! You're right. Give me a moment…", answered the emotionally refreshed red headed teen before grabbing as much of his belongings as he could.

Later, Michael and Jovi were back on their vehicles ready to leave for Gateon Port. Jovi had her stuff in her backpack, and Michael had his stuff in his waist bag as well as the extra backpack he had to take. Not wasting any more time, they headed their way to Gateon Port in an unusually silent but safe way through the woods.


	13. Episode 8 Part 2 of 2

Upon reaching the welcome sign in Gateon Ports gateway, Michael stepped down the steps with Jovi following him. In front of the steps he could see a crowd of people, among them Duking, Fateen, Eagun, Beluh, the Pyrite Town survivors and the rest of the resistance from Agate Village and Realgam Tower's Suites were assembled. The two were curious about why they were all gathered at this time when night is just about to settle on the land.

"What's going on? What's happening?", Michael called out to the people.

"Someone is here to see you…", Seth answered standing beside the base of the stairs.

Michael looked past the caped magician to see the figures opposing standing away from the crowd was none other than Ardos with Evice at his left, looking drastically monstrous and different from Agnes, and Nascour blending with the darkness at Ardos's right with piercing red glowing eyes. Two large dark armored Commander Class Peons also stood guard behind them as they watched Michael approach. The sound of a Cipher Gyrocopter in rotating its blades in the distance could be heard reverberating its noise through the port town.

"You're late.", Ardos announced as he watched Michael run forward and position himself in between Ardos's forces and Orre's last line of defense.

"What do you want?! Do you want to settle this now?! Cause it's way past time you stop!", threatened Michael with great vengeance and furious anger as he stood in a battle stance with his Lugia at the ready in his Ultra Ball.

"You believe you alone can stop us again?", Ardos questioned with a smile before Michael shook his head.

"I am never alone. We all want the same thing. My Pokémon, my family, my friends…. We want to be free! And I won't stop until we are!", Michael shouted, prompting supporting shouts from the crowd behind him.

Ardos laughed at Michael's claim. The red headed teen was annoyed, but he held his ground as he sensed his sister jumping beside him to back him up.

"What are you protecting? Who are you trying to free? Do you have any idea what it is like out there for people like us? To them, we are all just Distant Landers. A people without purpose. Discrimination against us runs rampant. Orre is in danger of disappearing forever. We are here to take back our cities and re-establish our control as a total power once again, ergo saving us all! Our memory here will never die!", Ardos countered, prompting thought in people's minds before he continued on.

"Orre is dead. Everyone, the people you once knew, the culture, the memories… they've all died... the moment you destroyed Cipher… you doomed us all… we owe all of this to you… Orre's Champion."

Michael couldn't respond as he looked down on the ground. Everyone's eyes were on him. Ardos shook his head with a laugh until Eagun stepped forward from the crowd with his Pikachu.

"It may be true. Maybe Cipher was the heart of this land. But my people's history lived through many generations. We mingled with the old settlers and became modernized a long time ago. Though we don't know our history as well as we should, we aren't going to see the memory of this once sacred land tortured by the likes of you. We're with Michael! And if Wes and my granddaughter were here, they would be too!", said the Myth Trainer raising a fist into the air with Pikachu crying out in support.

Orre's Champion held his head back up and smirked in imagining Wes and Rui would be there to back him up. He almost smiled if it weren't for the laughter coming from Cipher's new boss.

Ardos did nothing but laugh his scoffing laugh at all the people who opposed him. He looked like he had just heard the world's most hilarious joke. His maniacal laughter almost made his shades fall off of his face. He regrouped himself, keeping his shades over his eyes and regained his previous composure. He could see the opposing people looking at him angrily, including Michael, his sister, and the magician who gave a deathly stare.

"My apologies…", Ardos responded.

"Why was that so funny to you?!", Michael questioned angrily.

Suddenly, an unsettling feeling came over the area. Ardos looked at Evice, who's menacing grin turned into a scowl of uncertainty. He then turned to Nascour who shook his head with his white tendril-like hair blowing in the wind. Nascour answered in Ardos's place.

"We remember all of our enemies. Cipher remembers the man who stole our chance in Orre…", he said keeping his completely red eyes on Michael.

Evice interrupted suddenly interrupted out of his impatience.

"Don't bother telling them anything! We're here to arrange a parley between-"

"H-Hey! Aren't you Agnes? What happened to you? Is that how you always look", asked the blue haired girl before Evice angrily stomped the ground hissed at her.

"Shut up kid! Or we'll take you next!", Evice demanded her to be silenced with a threat.

Jovi huddled behind her brother out of fear. Michael spread his left machine-mounted arm to safely divide his sister from the enemy.

Ardos spoke forward after the small moment.

"Are you sure you want to know what happened to him?", he asked with a neutral expression.

Eagun suddenly angrily shouted a response!

"Tell me! Tell me what happened to my granddaughter?!", Eagun demanded with his Pikachu crying out with him.

"Then let's parley with each other at the Krabby Club. Only Michael and any of the other people who can call themselves leaders are allowed to observe or join the discussion.", proclaimed Ardos.

"What's a parley?", Jovi asked uncertain of what the term means.

"A parley is when two opposing factions discuss a method of agreement that could mean preventing a battle in this case…", Michael explained.

"Instead of letting this little war against you and these persistent people span on any longer, we will give you an offer if you will listen to what we have to say. And only then will we tell you what happened to… you know who and his girlfriend.", Ardos added with his wide grin stretching the wrinkles around his face.

Later, Michael was at a table in the Krabby Club with Ardos. Nascour and Evice were standing by as their Commander Peons stood outside guarding the doors. By Michael's side however was Eagun with Duking also providing backup seated by his sides. On the stage was a familiar man with a guitar strumming his instrument as he seated himself on the edge of the stage's floor boards between the lights. Michael recognized him, but he didn't bother asking what happened to him between the night the Slaking attacked. Nascour and Evice evicted him out of the place for the private discussion.

"My offer is as follows: Tomorrow you will head to Citadark Isle. You will go to the Dark Colosseum my father has left behind. And you will have a battle that will decide on the future of the Orre Region.", said Ardos as he sipped his aged berry drink from his fancy glass before placing it on the table.

"A battle? You mean this will be the battle to decide who wins?", asked Michael to be sure.

"Yes... in the same stadium you destroyed my father's dream.", Ardos explained further with details that still infuriates him.

"And if I win, you will disband and leave Orre alone?", questioned the red headed teen as he could see Ardos keep himself from smiling.

Without saying anything, Ardos handed over a pact that described the terms and conditions of their temporary cease-fire and how the final engagement will be settled.

"Between Cipher's faction and the remaining citizens of the Orre Region resisting confiscation and arrest, the champion of the rebels will battle the leader of the newly reformed Cipher. At the Dark Colosseum where Greevil once sat on his throne, the final battle will unfold to determine Orre's future. Should Orre's Champion win, Cipher will leave the region and its citizens alone before disbanding completely. Cipher will cease to exist once again should the Champion achieve victory. But, if Cipher's Admiral of all of Cipher win against the Champion, the Champion will proceed to transfer all of his Pokémon to the victor along with all of his prize money before being silenced forever, never to oppose Cipher again. Ergo in the Champion's potential defeat, all remaining Orre citizens will be taken peacefully or by force, whatever the situation calls for, no one will be left behind. Orre will finally be whole again under Cipher if the Champion should fail to achieve victory."

Michael's eyes widened with his breath still at the thought. It brought him flashbacks of the crisis he had with his former friends from Kanto and Hoenn. It was the time he almost lost custody of all of his Pokémon to a malignant group of Trainers who discovered a majority of them did not originally belong to him. The same Trainers he helped with their "Pokedex" project once; seemed more than happy to take all of Michael's rare Pokémon snagged from Cipher's forces.

"No armies! No machines! Just man-to-man with our Pokémon combat. Do you accept?" Ardos queried with a grin.

Michael couldn't respond. He tried to consider all of the possibilities. He could go into Citadark Isle and win the battle against Ardos.

"Don't accept it Michael! That is a big risk!", Duking suggested taking into account the possibility of a loss.

"I accept it… and I will win.", Michael assured letting Ardos know he won't make it easy.

"Think this through boy. Do you really want to take this risk?", Eagun asked the boy who tried not to think four times over this choice already.

"I know what's at stake. But this is my one shot to blowing Cipher's operation up out of the ground before it gets any worse. Orre's memory will not be tortured by the likes of Cipher again.", Michael explained his reasoning.

"But if you lose… what will happen to us?", Duking asked, prompting an answer from the blue haired head of Cipher.

"You will all be taken, calmly or by force. Either way is good for us and our cause. So make your time for tomorrow's events. Because once we get our second chance we will leave this town completely emptied. You will all become part of Cipher once again.", Ardos answered with an ominous tone and a malicious grin.

Duking and Eagun were unsettled by this notion. Michael acknowledged this consequence.

"I will NOT lose!", Michael assured with furious determination in his eyes once again to everyone who listened.

"Your confidence is admirable. But I've already seen what happens once you've reached the dome.", Ardos gloated with his malicious grin.

Michael thought for a moment about what he meant. But then remembered a detail about the moment he won against Greevil. It was Ardos's suggestion to Greevil at his defeat.

"You're planning going to blow the island up?", asked Michael with a scowl, prompting a surprised response from Ardos, his bodyguards, Eagun and Duking as well.

"Geh?! Of course not! In fact I forgot that was an option. No, I assure you no explosive tendencies will be involved in this last battle. You have my word.", Ardos promised no dirty tricks.

Eagun and Duking were skeptical, but Michael agreed anyway without fear of what the future might hold for him and the others.

Then a copy of the pact was handed to Michael to keep. He kept it in his Key Items Pocket.

"Now the meeting is adjourned. When tomorrow comes, we will finally settle this.", said Ardos beginning to pick himself up off his seat.

Eagun barked forward in anger.

"HEY! Tell us what happened to my Granddaughter and the boy! What happened?! Where are they?! Where have they been?!", he barked his questions much to Ardos's displeasure.

Ardos paused with his hands raised up into the air in front of him in a gesture, silencing Eagun and drawing eyes towards him. He spoke as he pointed Nascour and Evice to the doors before they began making their way through them.

"The Memory of Orre has been scattered throughout the different worlds we have never known. People have gone and tried to survive on their own…", explained Ardos following Nascour to the exit as Michael, Eagun, and Duking paid close attention to what he had to say.

"Some live… but others… like Wes… Have died alone, a long, long time ago…."

The doors closed. The club was silent with the three left behind. None of them could have any words to say for a solid minute. Michael remembered the dream he had of someday facing Wes in a battle. The hero he looked up to for so long. The dream has driven itself into the ground with this new insight. So much for that battle he always wanted.

"The boy… has died? But what about my granddaughter?! What about Rui?! What happened to her?!", Eagun questioned loudly with great concern and dissatisfaction in his tone.

"If Wes isn't alive… then that must mean we're literally the only hope for Orre's future…. But those two… could it really be true?", Duking questioned the possibility.

Michael shook his head. As much as he would like to believe Ardos is lying, the possibility that Wes, Rui, or both of them are gone forever is still very probable. Though he never knew him, the thought of having him lost to mortality felt like having lost a friend he never had.

Outside the Krabby Club into the patio, Michael could see Ardos, Evice, Nascour and the two Commander Peons entering floating glowing rings suspended over the water of the docks as the refugees watched them disappear. The rings faded out of existence and the Gyrocopter overhead flew into the distance, gradually decreasing the noise its blades made until it was gone.

Seth was sitting on the patio watching the events that unfolded. Eagun noticed and confronted him at his table beside the fence. Seth turned to see the angry elder and protector of Agate Village.

"What do you have to say for yourself?! Wizard?!", Eagun demanded a response.

Seth looked away towards the lighthouse. Eagun was enraged by this act.

"Look me in the eyes boy! How do we know you're not working with them?!", the Myth Trainer demanded another answer.

"I am not the same man I was when I was with Cipher so many years ago… I'm a magician. I use Cipher's technology to make my magic tricks… I've hosted shows in Kanto… Don't bother me.", Seth requested keeping a frown in Eagun's direction this time.

"Then you wouldn't know what happened to my granddaughter? Would you?!", Eagun attacked relentlessly as Duking watched and Michael stood by.

"Please… I don't know anything about your granddaughter…", Seth requested again that he would stop as he tried to look away this time looking mildly disturbed.

You're hiding something aren't you?! They called you a traitor, maybe there's more to that then we know!", Eagun let out his anger and accusations on the magician who's eyes began to squint as he raised a hand up to his forehead in defense.

"S-Stop it! I…", the magician said before he began holding his left hand over his left ear with his two arms uncovered from his cloak.

Michael intervened, cutting Eagun off from venting his anger and disbelief on the magician.

"That's enough! He doesn't know what happened. If he knew he'd say it by now but he is not responsible for anything! Don't blame him!", Michael said to Eagun standing by Seth's side to his surprise.

"But…", Eagun muttered through his beard before he felt a tug on his robe.

He looked down to see his Pikachu was looking up at him looking sad. The little yellow Pokémon's ears twitched as he cried out a small cry with his eyes glistening.

"Peigka….", squeaked the electric rodent before being picked up by its trainer.

"We've all been through something like this… I've lost someone close once too. But we need to find the resolve to carry on. We're all in this together. It's just like what Seth told me at the Key Lair, to keep it strong and move along just to make it through. Right Seth?", Michael said remembering the tender moment he had when he was fearful for the wellbeing of his families and friends.

"Huh? … Right… Michael.", answered the blue eyed magician lowering his hands from his ears on to the table.

Duking approached the table by Eagun's side add to the conversation.

"They're right. We have to stay strong if we're going to make it. If Michael wins this battle, all of our problems will be solved! And I'll get to see my daughter again.", added Duking.

"At least we know you still have a daughter... What am I going to tell Beluh? That our hopes of seeing our granddaughter again are gone?", Eagun continued to grieve as he held his Pikachu.

"We don't even know if Ardos is telling the truth! None of us do! But if I take down Cipher by winning the duel tomorrow, I promise I'll set out go find her myself for sure. I promise we'll find Rui one way or another.", Michael said assuring the elderly Trainer.

Eagun was silent for a moment. He looked at Michael with the magician beside him looking towards the dark ocean away from discussion. The Myth Trainer sighed and put his Pikachu on his shoulder. Pikachu rubbed its cheek against Eagun's left ear as its trainer spoke its mind.

"Alright Michael… I'm putting my faith on you again... Everyone is now… if there is anything we can help you with, please let us know... Goodnight everyone.", said Eagun before walking off to the Pokémon Center to find his wife so that they may sleep for tomorrow.

As Eagun stepped down the patio, Jovi passed by him to see her brother but not without turning to see Eagun's expression on his face as he passed by.

Duking spoke out the table towards Michael and the magician returning his attention from the sea.

"Well lads. I suppose I better tell everyone the Krabby Club is now open for people to come in again. I'll have gumbo waiting if anyone wants some before they sleep tonight.", said Duking before passing Jovi to meet with the rest of the free survivors waiting around the Pokémon Center and Poke Mart.

The patio was empty with only Michael and the distraught magician at a table. The red headed teen looked to see if he was alright.

"You okay there?", asked the red headed teen.

"I'm alright… thanks Michael.", Seth expressed his gratitude with a slight grin a raise of his brows.

"I haven't felt so shook since I was pelted with ripe Tamato berries one time in Kanto during one of my shows… And wouldn't you know, it was a roughneck with a prejudice against foreigners that brought the bag. Heh…", chuckled the magician a melancholy little laugh.

"Yikes. I'm so sorry…", Michael sympathized as he looked at his hands. He noticed neither of them had a gauntlet that held a Neo Evolution Key stone this time.

"It was a nightmare washing out the spice out of my cape. But it just goes to show to what extent people will put up with something weird and new…", admitted Seth as he brushed some crumbs off the table.

"Yeah…", Michael agreed with a nod and a sympathetic frown.

"I see you're not wearing that gauntlet anymore. Any good reason?", Michael questioned based on his previous observation.

"Neo Evolution is not empowering enough. Though I've tried to make it work, but Neo Evolution is not efficient enough on its own to win any battles. You remember what happened at the Cipher Key Lair. These are good as magic acts in a show, but otherwise it's just no good. The drawback on the Pokémon is just too heavy.", explained Seth.

"Ahh I understand… that half-health drawback really is too much huh?", asked the red headed teen.

"It can only be improved if that health can be reclaimed immediately after the Neo Evolution or at least compensated in some way instead of an overall boost to a Pokémon's attributes.", concluded Seth looking back out into the ocean.

Michael debated whether or not it would be appropriate to ask him himself, but he decided to do just that knowing that Seth wasn't bothered at the moment.

"So you've been in Kanto for a while… have… you ever seen Wes or Rui?", the red headed teen questioned, bringing out a sigh from the magician.

"If I bothered to remember every name of every person I ever seen I'd tell you who pelted me with Tamato berries that day. I don't even know what the two look like.", answered Seth shaking his head with his eyes closed.

"Oh… heh, neither do I honestly… but sometimes I feel like I feel like I've seen one of them before… Wes or Rui at least once in the past… do you mind if I ask you something important?", Michael requested further attention.

"Go ahead…", Seth replied available to answer more questions.

Michael sniffed the air and sighed, thinking about how he would word this question. He began to talk without stuttering.

"Did you know my dad was part of Cipher?", asked the red headed teen.

"…. Yes… Yes I knew he was once part of Cipher…", answered the former Cipher Scientist.

"And that most of the people who worked at the HQ Lab were once part of Cipher?", further asked Michael.

"I know he had his family and his friends. I know that he wasn't happy with how his work would be used. It wasn't until an incident happened within your family that he later found out Cipher's darkest secret. What it was that happened that day? I don't know… but it helped peak his interest to find the truth.", explained Seth.

"So Dad felt guilty… but it wasn't until something happened that made him curious? I wonder… what could it…"

Michael pondered deep in thought. His mind fizzled before a flashback played before his eyes. In that moment, he could see a pair of red eyes in a dark shadowy area in a forest approaching him fast. The familiar fear shocked him out his very brief trance. He could see Seth was surprised to see him behave so oddly for that moment.

"Was that… a Shadow Pokémon?", said Michael thinking back to the memory of their family's research trip in the forest.

"Did you just remember what happened?", questioned Seth with curiosity and an eye brow raised.

"I think I was attacked… by a Shadow Pokémon let loose in the middle of a forest… but Dad saved me before the Pokémon could hurt me. I can't remember what that Pokémon was though… It was on four legs and it had claws… was it an Absol?"

"An Absol? They've made a Shadow Absol before. Perhaps that's what really happened.", Seth stated the possibility.

"I'm not sure…. But I remember being afraid of the dark for a while after that day…", answered Michael.

"Are you still afraid of the dark?", queried the magician once more.

"No… but I'm afraid of what would happen if I don't make things right real soon tomorrow.", replied Michael with a nod as he looked down at the surface of the table in front of him in thought.

Suddenly, Jovi stepped up on to the patio to see Michael sitting at the table on the patio nearest to the ocean with the familiar magician. She pulled up a chair and joined the conversation.

"Hey! How did it go?", Jovi asked her older brother interrupting his train of thought.

"Oh? The negotiations? Well we did reach an agreement…", Michael admitted before explaining to his sister what happened as she and Michael sat at Seth's table as the magician silently listened as he sniffed the salty air rising from the splashes against the concrete and rocks below.

Jovi's eyes widened with her jaw dropped when she heard the gamble Michael agreed into.

"M-Michael?! You'd bet all of your Pokémon?! But you love them!", Jovi expressed her great concern.

"No! No no don't worry Jovi! I am not going to lose my Pokémon to anyone. What I am going to do is win this war tomorrow and all of Ardos's control over Cipher will be gone. You know what will happen next?", Michael asked his younger sister with an optimistic smile.

"You'll disband them?", Jovi questioned tilting her head.

"Well, yes! Yes and everyone in Orre will be saved. Cipher will be nothing but a distant nightmare this time two days from now. And once that's done, we can all make our way out safely to Kanto or whatever region Lily booked us on that air ship.", explained Michael, drawing Jovi and Seth's attention with eyebrows raised.

"But if you lose the battle… it will be the 'incident' all over again except so much worse!", Jovi restated the risk with Michael gesturing her to calm down.

"Now now Jovi. It's not like Ardos will be a challenge. This is Ardos we're talking about here. It's not like I'm battling him again at the Orre Colosseum or anything like I did years ago. I've got nothing keeping me from letting my Lugia run wild against his entire team this time. But even still, I need to make sure Lugia has reliable backup once that time comes. I think I'll have to get all of my Legendary Birds and an extra heavy hitting Pokémon for good measure behind Lugia. My Umbreon can take a few hits and use Toxic to slowly choke some of his Pokémon out too, so don't worry Jovi. I've got this.", Michael assured with a smile and a nod.

"You aren't afraid of him?", Seth questioned out of curiosity.

"Of Ardos? Not really… I mean I know he has it out for me and all. But he doesn't scare me.", admitted the red headed teen shaking his head as people passed the table to enter the re-opened Krabby Club.

"Even with everything he has done with this reformed, 'Neo' Cipher?", Seth further questioned curious about his thoughts.

"Well… he has improved his tactics a lot… but I'm not sure if he alone would really be responsible for these new tactics. Undermine and the underground Pyrite Town Base with their new R&D teams might have been suggested by Ein or the other admins for their special forces units. Nascour and Evice must either be commanding officers or advisors to the boss, Ardos… Say now that I think of it, I don't think Ardos would ever have agreed to gambling the fate of his Neo Cipher organization with me.", Michael realized a strange coincidence.

"Why do you think that?", Jovi asked with her own curiosity.

"It's just not like him to gamble… I don't think… It must have been Evice or Nascour who suggested this idea to him… but now I wonder, where are they keeping Lovrina and the others? Gorigan, Snattle, Naps… I don't know if they're at Citadark Isle or at the 'Home Base' I discovered before I blacked out earlier… I still can't believe that happened.", Michael explained reminiscing what had happened back at the end of their raid in Undermine.

"I can still remember those eyes… they were like a glowing yellow-orange color… the only person I know that has eyes like that could be Greevil. But he swore he would never do this again…"

"But then again, maybe it was actually Ardos considering he probably has his dad's eyes... The Ardos I saw trying to psych me out before I stepped through the Warp Station's portal in Undermine was actually a Doppelganger robot. So that must mean he must have been the one to knock me out at the other side… but why would he throw me back out here just to be here having this talk with him? After going on about blaming me for everything that's happened in Orre and his grudge against me for destroying his father's dream, and then kidnapping my mom and Professor Krane… Is this like all actually part of his revenge against me? Is this is all just a big game to him?", Michael continued holding his right hand to his forehead in trying to review everything that's happened thus far.

Jovi and Seth watched as Michael went on about the mysteries he faced in this adventure. The red headed teen had a lot to talk about. The strange coincidences and happenings from Phenac City to the population of Orre's citizens and the question of them having either immigrated out of the region or captured and assimilated by Cipher were a few topics of great debate. Michael then thought about the first thing he encountered before this small adventure officially happened.

"Did Ardos purposely leave a clean hover truck out there in the middle of the desert for me to discover, and then let whatever was trapped in the trunk fly out and crash through our lab, breaking the Purify Chamber while leaving a crater full of wild foreign Pokémon?"

Michael shook his head as he tried to grasp the meaning of everything that has happened. He looked at Seth as Michael remembered what happened that night.

"And when you hypnotized me, I had that strange dream… it took place before the incident in the woods long ago, but then I found myself surrounded in a giant dark metal room full of what I thought to be Shadow Pokémon with Shadow Lugia seemingly among them… And then when I woke up on stage. And on the same night, Evice, disguised as Agnes, took Lovrina and Naps away in a fake job interview and made them part of Cipher again…"

Michael went on analyzing why Cipher would rip off devices and machines in their abandoned factories and labs. Jovi listened, leaning with her elbows on the table and her hands holding her chin. Seth observed what he had to say; ready to give possible feedback to what he was rambling about.

"The destruction of the Relic and the Purify Chamber… which reminds me, I have something important to do at Makan's Shop, But everything so far is leading to the point where they are definitely going to revive Shadow Pokémon… but even still if we do end up without a Relic, Celebi, or a Purify Chamber, there might still be a method of Shadow Pokémon Purification out there according to my Dad.", said Michael drawing interest from his sister and the magician.

"Oh really?", Seth asked intrigued by this notion.

"What was Daddy talking about? What did he mean?", Jovi added her curiosity.

Michael didn't hesitate to share his father's theory of multiple Shadow Purification methods. He began explaining the theory revolving around Celebi's power to force Shadow Pokémon to relive their happiest memories to unlock the heart.

"If Celebi could do that, then who's to say another Pokémon out there could do the same thing in some way? My Dad theorized that a certain melody could soothe a Shadow Pokémon's heart and let them remember their happiest memories. Seeing as some songs could effect a person's emotions in the same way, that's what my Dad thought could be possible. The Purify Chamber was built similar to PC Box storage system but the space inside was a virtual dance party to funky techno beats to help a Shadow Pokémon feel at ease and eventually ready itself for purification with the help of the normal Pokémon dancing around it to the music. I guess Dad sorta made the machine based on this theory."

"Woah. Daddy was so smart! So there might be a song that could purify a Shadow Pokemon?", asked Jovi with a cheery grin.

"There might be. So even if we don't have the Purification Methods we always used, it's likely there might be even more methods out there we haven't discovered."

"Fascinating… That is a very plausible theory your father has made.", Seth added his thoughts to the matter.

"Yeah… I wonder what he'd be doing if he were here right now… probably heading over to Makan's shop now that I think about it. I think… Say Jovi, think maybe we better head to Acri's house and sleep in for tonight. I've had enough for today.", Michael admitted after feeling the weight of today's activities having finally caught up to him.

"Ohh but Michael could I stay up a little more? I promise I'll be in Emili's house soon.", Jovi pleaded and promised.

Michael rubbed his eyes as he thought about it. His eyes were half closed as he longed to crash into a nice bed and lay still in a comfortable slumber. He shook his head as he began talking to his sister.

"I need sleep. I would seriously love to stay out here, but tomorrow is a big day for all of us and everyone is relying on me. I need all the energy I can get. If you want to stay up, fine. But don't stay up too late okay?", requested Michael.

"Of course Michael! No worries!", Jovi assured with a grin.

Michael nodded with a half-smile back at his sister. He turned to Seth and called his attention.

"Seth, make sure she heads to Acri's house soon. The house by Makan's shop and the plaza, please."

"Of course, Michael.", Seth assured him with a nod and a blink of his blue eyes.

Now finding it high time to go to sleep as soon as he can, Michael began making his way to the empty house. Jovi said goodnight to him as Seth followed saying goodnight to him too. The magician and the young Trainer watched Michael walk around the piers for a moment before he went out of sight in the night.

The table was silent for a moment. Jovi raised her eyebrows at Seth who seemed deep in thought about something. He looked back at her to realize she was smiling at him.

"Hey! I still have that blue rose you gave me!", Jovi exclaimed, pulling out a dried out blue rose with crusty leaves out of a pocket in her backpack.

Seth was mildly surprised to see the plant he had forgotten he gave to the little sister when he first met her and Michael that day.

"Oh?", Seth expressed his amazement.

"Yeah! … It's a little dead though. Heh, I didn't think about putting it in a vase or anything.", admitted Jovi in embarrassment with cheeks slightly red.

"Huh….", reacted the magician before he pulled his cape in front of his left arm and stuck his free hand under the cape to pull out another blue rose.

"Wow!", Jovi expressed her amusement seeing the casual magic trick.

"Here. Don't worry about letting it wither.", he said putting it beside the old rose.

Jovi took held it up to her face to smell the scent. She smiled with a blush as she enjoyed how sweet the scent was.

"Thank you so much! I'll try to find water for this somehow. Maybe I'll put it in Emili's house where our own club house would be. I'm sure she'd like that.", said Jovi with a smile.

"Not a problem.", answered the magician to the girl's gratitude.

As she smelled the flower, Jovi suddenly remembered something she got earlier.

"Look at this thing Chobin gave me before we left for the lab. It's called a Universal OFF-Button.", said Jovi as she took out a junk, scrappy looking device with a big red button on a panel connected to a series of small batteries and magnets attached to a car battery.

"I'm trying to remember how Chobin described this… oh yeah! It went a little like…"

"Dr. Kaminko's inventions are number one in the world! Chobin's choice is this, tadaah! The Universal OFF-Button. Not only will this device turn off any electronic device within a twenty yard radius but it will also render them incapable of working again until a proper electrician or mechanic comes to turn them back on! This invention was made in response to the Chobin Bot incident not too long ago in case robots were to rise against their creators again, but Chobin can see uses in this device in every day occurrences! Chobin thinks its genius!", said Jovi imitating Chobin's lines and way he talks.

"That's how he describes all of the doctor's inventions?", questioned the silver haired man with a brow raised.

"Yep! It's funny seeing all of his videos where he talks about them. He has the camera up in his face every time like he's ready to kiss the lens! Hee hee!", described Jovi with a laugh.

"How…. Amusing?", the magician reacted in a confused tone.

"Ahh but he doesn't do that too much anymore. Especially now.", admitted Jovi with a small frown and a shake of her head.

Ignoring the banter, Seth inspected the device on the table. He could see its overwhelming amount of batteries within the circuit attached to various black magnets showed its true potential in its purpose.

"That 'Universal OFF-Button' is actually an EMP device. It 'turns off' devices by emitting an electromagnetic pulse towards any electronics in range, including your Poke Balls and P*DA. I'd really be careful with that if I were you.", warned Seth pointing to the device in Jovi's hands.

"Oh? Okay! I'll make sure to keep this safe then. Who knows if I'll ever need to use this anyway? I mean it's not like Chobin Bot is going to go crazy again anytime soon… Well, as far as we know anyway. Eh…", remarked Jovi before turning her head to see Chobin Bot idling in the distance by the pier Robo Kyogre has been docked for the night. The expressionless relatively small figure in a lab coat was keeping watch, but under the light of a street lamp he looked a little unnerving to even approach. Jovi felt chills down her spine for a brief moment.

"Good. Keep it safe.", Seth agreed.

Jovi turned to face Seth. She thought up of a question for him as he eyed the Robo Trainer standing guard in the distance.

"Hey Seth. Mind if I ask you something?"

"It seems I'm always here to answer everyone's questions… go ahead.", Seth approved of the apparently repetitive notion in his time.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?", asked Jovi with a friendly smile.

"No.", answered the magician as he squinted his eyes towards the surface of the table.

"No? Oh… well what about your childhood? Did you get to play with friends?", Jovi fired away another question.

"I… I guess I had friends… But those days are long gone.", replied the magician once again.

"Oh. You don't know where they went?", queried the curious blue haired girl.

"They weren't important to me. It's better not to get attached to people or Pokémon you know won't stay with you forever.", explained Seth shaking his head.

"But nothing lasts forever…", Jovi stated, with Seth nodding.

"The problem we all face every day…", said Seth with a small shrug.

"But that shouldn't stop you from making friends! To make memories and be happy with people you can open up to. Friends and family, your Pokémon, anyone you could share a smile with. Like me and Michael! Right?", she asked standing up from her seat with a cheery grin on her face.

Seth looked confused for a moment. He blinked his eyes once before closed them and gave a smirk.

"I suppose… but then I'd know someday our connection would end. And the only thing I'd have to remember is a memento of a time that's gone. What good is that?", he said before Jovi retaliated.

"But you can always see them again in your dreams. You can always remember them and be glad they were there when they were. And who knows? Maybe the end doesn't have to be the end. Maybe someday I'll see Emili and Acri again. There's always a chance!"

Seth let out a big sigh. He remained silent for a moment as he was deep in thought on the subject.

"Maybe…. For some people... You know what, how about we change the subject? You're training to be a Pokémon trainer soon right?"

"Yeah? I am!", answered Jovi with enthusiasm.

"Where are you going to go on your adventure? What region?", Seth asked, prompting a sudden realization in Jovi's eyes with her response.

"Oh… I actually totally don't know. Orre doesn't have anything or anyone anymore… so maybe I could start at Hoenn? Or Kanto or…"

"And when you get there, what's going to be your ultimate goal at the end of your journey? To be the very best? Like no one ever was?", asked Seth with an eye brow raised with curiosity.

"Gee I don't know. Gym battle challenges and Contests I hear are popular for trainers to go for. But I'm not really sure…"

"Just go for something you think would be fun. Colosseum challenges in Poketopia would have been an option, but their system fell apart years ago… so you might want to check that off the list…", advised the former scientist.

"Hm… they all sound like fun. But I think what I really want is to catch new Pokémon where I'm going. Pokémon Michael, Mom, Professor Krane or anyone has never seen before! … Or maybe I'd like to catch cute Pokémon… I kinda wished I could have caught one of those Spinaraks in Pyrite Cave earlier heh…. So hard to choose."

"Oh? You've only caught one Pokémon this entire time since I summoned Litwick that night on stage?", he asked curiously.

"Uh… yeah? Why?", Asked Jovi unsure of why he was so curious.

"Oh. I just thought it was a shame you haven't found any other Pokémon to catch before tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for all of us, so the more of us ready to fight tomorrow's fight the merrier I'd think…"

"Ahh I never thought of it that way… if I'm low on Pokémon to battle with, I won't last as long as I could in a full scale battle…"

"Exactly. Let that be a lesson for you later when you're off on your journey. Catch as much as you can just to keep your party saturated in numbers wherever you go.", advised Seth before he stood up from his chair and stretched his arms out into the air.

Jovi pondered what she could have done differently. She thought about all the potential Wild Pokémon she met along the way. The Skorupi in the woods at the crater site, the freed Spinarak at Pyrite Cave, the Lairon that burrowed around Cipher's Pokémon Center replica in Undermine were all potential contenders for Pokémon in her party. She has all of these Poke Balls in her bag given to her by her brother but she has never found any use for them thus far despite the chances she might have had.

"I think you better run along now considering the time.", Seth advised, walking towards the doorway of the Krabby Club.

"Seth, can you summon another Pokémon for me to catch? Just one more?", requested Jovi, prompting Seth to turn around to see her big blue sad eyes.

"I'm not some random Wild Pokémon gumball machine. I don't even have a hat to pull random Pokémon out of anymore.", explained Seth shaking his head.

"Oh but can't you just use your cape? Please?", pleaded the blue haired girl with her fists clenched in front of her.

"N-No! No…. fine! But I'm leaving you to weakening this Pokémon on your own.", Seth conceded to the notion with little enthusiasm.

"Get ready!"

Jovi stood up with Pluplu ready to be sent out. Seth waved his dark cloak around with both hands and before their eyes, summoned a little Poliwag with a swish of the cape. The little Poliwag sat on the floor confused on how it got there and where it was.

"A Poliwag! Thank you so much Seth!",

"Do not get complacent! Catch it before it runs away!", urged the Magician, pointing to the oblivious Poliwag who was looking her way.

Jovi hesitated for a moment before she quickly sent out Pluplu ready to battle the opposing Poliwag.

"Spark!", she issued the first attack.

Pluplu rushed forward toward the rotund little Tadpole Pokémon with sparks flying from her cheeks and rammed into the summoned Poliwag.

Poliwag shrieked as it was blasted against the wall and bounced on the ground on its way down like a kicked rubber ball.

Jovi and Pluplu looked over at the Poliwag for a moment, not realizing how dynamic that attack was.

Seth inched over and flipped Poliwag on to its back with the tip of his boot, seeing the swirl in its eyes as well as its belly.

"It fainted.", Seth officially proclaimed after his close examination.

"Oh? Does that mean I can't catch it?", Jovi wondered out loud as she viewed Seth shaking his head.

"Just because a Pokémon fainted doesn't mean you can't catch it. In fact it's easier to catch a fainted Pokémon than a conscious Pokémon on the edge of fainting. But you better catch it now or it will get up and run away once the capture fails. And if you do catch it, it won't like you as much as it would through normal means, remember that.", explained the magician as he stepped aside.

The blue haired girl drew an empty Poke Ball from her yellow backpack and threw it at the fainted Poliwag. The capsule bounced off of the Poliwag and capsulated the Pokémon within its beam. On the ground the ball began shaking back and forth.

Jovi's eyes were wide open in anticipation with Pluplu standing in awe before the Poke Ball's vibrations. Suddenly, the capsule exploded, revealing Poliwag materializing in front of them before running off down the patio steps.

"Ah?! It got away?!", Jovi expressed in astonishment.

"It can't go far. It wouldn't jump into the foreign ocean as it is now. Go out and catch it on your way home. It must be hiding somewhere.", suggested Seth as he turned back to the Krabby Club doors.

"In fact here's the deal. If you can show me that Poliwag tomorrow in the morning in a Poke Ball that is yours, I'll give you something special to help you in a future Pokémon battle.", he continued offering more incentive to be more powerful as a beginner trainer.

"Oh? Okay! Thank you Seth!", thanked Jovi before running off down the shattered checkered tiled path.

"Goodnight. Don't stay up all night trying to catch that thing!", warned the magician before Jovi waved back.

"I won't! Goodnight!", Jovi bid him goodnight as she ran off.

The magician disappeared into the Krabby-shaped building as Jovi ran about peering in the thin alleys between the Krabby Club, the Poke Mart, and the Pokémon Center with her Plusle at her side.

She climbed over boxes to peer into the piles of junk and scrap accumulated within the corners of the town. The young trainer kept her pursuit of the potential new addition to her party.

"Poliwag? Hello?", Jovi called out before not getting any responses from the dimly lit spaces.

She sent out Mimi to help her along with Pluplu in their little quest. Through the twenty minutes she spent investigating she couldn't find the little Water Type Pokémon despite her best efforts. That was until she saw something move in the corner of her eye towards the Parts Shop district.

"Did it go over there?", she asked herself before she realized nobody else was out in the town at this time of night.

Despite there being lights on in some houses including the Krabby Club, there were no signs the town's refugees outside of their temporary homes.

"DISTURBANCE DETECTED! PROCEEDING WITH INVESTIGATION!", the loud robotic voice of Chobin Bot suddenly boomed near the gate.

Jovi, Mimi, and Pluplu jumped and looked towards the gateway to the town to see the clunky little Robo Trainer step up the stairs with sparks flying and lights glowing from its metal glasses in the front of it's face.

"Pluplu… do you think Poliwag is up there?", she asked her Pokémon, prompting a small measly cry of uncertainty from the little Cheering Pokémon.

Jovi and her Pokémon quietly made their way to the stairs at the gate and followed Chobin Bot up on to the sandy clearing where vehicles have been left to park. Jovi could see the Robo Trainer patrolling around and through the vehicles with a slightly eerie vibe in the night.

"I want to catch that Poliwag before we go tonight. Let's keep our heads low and find it quickly!", she said to herself.

"I better keep a Poke Ball ready… maybe I'll use a Great Ball this time. Yeah.", she continued as she lead her two assisting Pokémon to sneak around the maze of transportation vehicles.

The sound of Chobin Bot walking drowned out the noise of the wind and ocean. She kept looking under wheeled trucks for Pokémon and the seats of open cabin vehicles. She could only see dust and trash in her search. Pluplu and Mimi rushed about looking as hard as they could, but neither of them could make any progress.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF!", Chobin Bot demanded, scaring Jovi and her two Pokemon completely out of their nerves.

They turned to realize that Chobin Bot was not directed towards them, but something within his vicinity that caught his attention.

"…. TARGET LOST…. *beep* RETURNING TO PATROL!", the Robo Trainer stated before proceeding to walk back towards the gateway's stairs.

The young trainer watched the automated little guard walk down the stairs before she turned to investigate the spaces Chobin Bot was inspecting.

"What was he looking at?... What did he think he saw?", Jovi asked out loud before she heard something scurry behind a car.

Her heart jumped, but taking her determination to catch Poliwag she charged forward around the car with a Great Ball in hand and flung it at the shadowy figure she couldn't even recognize in the heat of the moment.

The Great Ball drew the Pokémon into the capsule. Jovi and her two Pokémon watched it wobble back and forth for a tense ten seconds before it clicked and stopped moving.

"I caught it?"

She walked over to the capsule and picked it up. The blue haired trainer smiled as she welcomed her newest member of her Party.

"Welcome to the team Poliwag!", she welcomed her new Pokémon as she held the Great Ball into the air for a moment before bringing it close to her to hug in her arms.

"I will hug him and squeeze him and call him Polly!", she said with a happy grin as she until she realized something she hadn't noticed for a long time.

"… Hey that reminds me. I need to think of a nickname for Litwick too! It's not fair that Mimi and Pluplu got their nicknames… I think I'll call him Lily!... oh wait but that's mom's name… hmmm I'll think about it...", thought out loud Jovi as she walked her two Cheering Pokémon back to the main plaza of Gateon Port down the stairs.

In the light of a lamp within the district near Makan's Shop and Acri's house, Chobin Bot remained idle guarding the door to the parts shop as Jovi and her Pokémon walked and stopped within the light to have a good look at the newest member of their team.

"Poliwag! Come out!", she shouted out before throwing the Great Ball up into the air.

The capsule flew but it did not open. It landed on the ground with a thud and a bounce as before it rolled a few inches away. Jovi's eyes were wide open in disbelief as was Mimi and Pluplu watching the strange occurrence.

"It didn't open? Poliwag doesn't want to come out?"

Jovi picked the Great Ball back up off the ground. She couldn't tell why it wouldn't open. Her hands rubbed the surface and dusted off the dust it gained from the concrete ground, but she couldn't see her Poliwag inside the surface either way.

"Huh…. Maybe this is what Seth meant. It won't like me as much because I caught it just after it fainted and ran away… or maybe Poliwag just doesn't want to come out yet? Probably both? Huh….. huh?"

Jovi heard little footsteps nearby. She turned to see the glowing rings of an Umbreon in the shadow between Acri's house and the refugee-occupied house. The Umbreon sat looking at Jovi with its red still eyes in the night.

"Oh, Umbreon? Did Michael put you out here to watch over me?", she asked as Mimi and Pluplu greeted Umbreon with a cheer.

The Moonlight Pokémon didn't respond. It sat quietly for a moment before suddenly looking away at something in the distance. It quietly stared into space for a moment before it stood up on its four paws and walked around the house it hid behind. The blue haired young trainer and her Pokemon were left behind with curiosity.

"Huh… well let's go back to the room. Poliwag might open up tomorrow."

The automatic door slid open, allowing Jovi and her Pokémon to come into the little repurposed former home of Acri and Emili. The door closed behind her, safely sealing the room from the outside world at night.

The first thing Jovi could see was the unpowered television on the wall. The space was empty, but around the corner was the bedroom with a slight blue glow coming from it.

She stepped forward to see the glow of Michael's Snag Machine in the corner, stashed with Michael's headband, yellow desert vest, waist bag, extra back pack and shoes.

As her eyes adjusted, she could see the bed frame left behind by Emili and Acri still didn't have a mattress, so it was left unused. On the floor she could see her older brother in his black shirt and blue pants with his messy red hair pointed everywhere unbounded by his headband.

"Oh there aren't even any pillows in here? I guess we do have to sleep on the floor…"

Jovi disliked the idea very much, but given the circumstances they should have prepared earlier for getting a good sleep tonight. She sat her yellow bag and light blue thin sweater beside her brother's stuff before she herself sat up on the floor with her legs crossed. Mimi and Pluplu settled themselves together before they snuggled up together and closed their eyes.

"Sigh…. Guess I'll try to sleep now… I guess as a trainer you'd have to be ready to sleep on anything in your adventure. Like on rock or…. Under a rock or…. Sand… ugh, give me a nice warm bed any day.", Jovi expressed how dissatisfying the notion is.

She took another look around the room before she spotted something peculiar on the nearly empty book shelf. It was the Haunted Radio Chobin gave her earlier days ago. Jovi squinted her eyes trying to remember when she put it there.

"That's the Haunted Radio…. But when did I put that there? I forgot I even had it back then..."

Jovi was tempted to get up and examine the retro device, but something in her felt a certain sense of dread when thinking about whether or not Kaminko's Haunted Radio was actually haunted or still haunted. She remembered what Chobin said about it, about how it once held a voice that cried out for help around two in the morning every night, but he gave it to her as it seemed it stopped crying for help a while ago.

"…. What time is it now? Er… on second thought I don't want to know. Goodnight!", she thought to herself as she curled up beside her brother's back on the floor and closed her eyes with her hands folded between her left cheek and the floor.

Time passed, and though she tried so hard to sleep, every time she closed her eyes she could only open them up seemingly minutes later with the uncomfortable ground and haunting thought of the radio on the shelf. Thoughts ran through her head about the importance of tomorrow's events. The combination of worry and uncomfortable setting lead her to be a very unhappy little sister.

"Ugghhh….. this isn't fun…."

She twisted herself in various ways. Sometimes she would be on her back and sometimes on her stomach, but she still couldn't bring herself to keep her eyes closed to sleep. She could feel the sensation of the petrified ground constantly keeping her body stiff.

Jovi felt the heat of the room begin to settle on her being. She took matters into her own hands and looked around for a window. All around the walls were lights in columns built into the surface with the décor of the interior. But looking behind her, he could see two folded windows that have been closed for a long time. Jovi immediately threw them both open, not paying any uneeded attention to the visible night outside. And though ventilation is now more apparent, she still felt exhausted from the heat.

Time passed further into the night. Jovi's eyes felt crusty as she spent her time in her defeated attempt to sleep on the excruciatingly uncomfortable hard floor. The sound of the ocean outside through the open windows became hypnotic as she fell into a trance facing the Haunted Radio on the shelf.

"…. What if….. What if tonight is the last night? ….. to sleep?... what does Cipher do with their prisoners…. I wonder if they sleep well… my head….", she thought to herself as she suffered her case of insomnia.

The tired blue haired girl yawned for a moment. She sat still on the floor before she bowed her head and closed her eyes into a soundless slumber. Her mind drifted and her consciousness dropped as she kept still. The blue haired girl finally fell asleep…

"…Heehh…..hheeehhh…. Heeeellllp MEEEE! HELP MEE!"

Jovi gasped as she awoke to the sound of a women's voice crying out for help. She stood up and looked around quickly before she heard a long static beep coming from the Haunted Radio. In fear she looked away from the shelves before she could suddenly see a figure at the automatic door. The metal door closed and the figure disappeared before a shadow dashed past the two open windows on he wall.

"Michael?! Michael who was that?!"

Jovi looked down to see her brother was still asleep on the ground. She knelt to shake him awake as she called his name, but he wouldn't respond.

"Michael! Michael get up! Michael! Come on! Michael!", she shook him over and over again before she felt a hand on her shoulder that made her gasp in fear and blink to the sight of her brother in the dark looking concerned and kneeling in front of her.

"Jovi? Are you alright?", Michael asked with great concern as he knelt on one knee and his right hand in the air between them.

She breathed heavily. The disturbed girl looked to see Pluplu, Mimi, and Umbreon were all there looking concerned for her well-being. Jovi breathed in and let loose a sigh of relief.

"I had a nightmare… but it was one of those dream-within-a-dream nightmares again.", she explained scratching her head with a small embarrassed smile.

"Gosh I'm sorry Jovi…. I think we should have picked up some pillows when we were at the HQ Lab, heh…"

"You're right… heh… I forgot too.", she admitted before she yawned once again.

"I'm having so much trouble sleeping tonight… this floor doesn't help.", she explained as she looked down with her eyes half shut.

"I'm sorry Jovi… maybe we could try something different though. Use your bag as a pillow and hug your Pokémon to help you sleep. Or just keep close to me if you want.", said Michael as he stood back up to pick up his bag and his extra backpack.

Jovi watched him in the light of the Snag Machine's glow. Michael took his bags and arranged them against a wall as makeshift pillows around his head as Umbreon curled up beside his trainer over his waist bag.

The younger trainer followed, standing up to grab her stuff from the corner and making her yellow bag into her own makeshift pillow. She put it against the wall near her brother and let her two Pokémon snuggle up beside her under her left arm. Jovi wrapped her arm around Mimi and Pluplu as they got comfortable. The feeling of her two first Pokémon beside her made her feel so much more secure and less anxious.

"Better?", Michael asked his sister.

"A little better I guess… did you have to sleep like this a lot when you were on your adventure?"

"Well… very very rarely. I always try to find a Hotel or a Pokémon Center first if one is close by. But every building in Gateon Port right now is filled with people trying to sleep too… but I'm sure this will all change soon.", assured Michael with a whisper.

"For the better?", Jovi questioned in a whisper back.

"Of course….", he answered quietly as he closed his eyes.

"A better tomorrow for everyone…"

Jovi looked at the Haunted Radio that remained silent and alone on the shelf. She pried her eyes away from it and held her two Pokémon in her arm tighter as she closed her eyes. By her brother's shoulder she was able to rest her head. No longer taken by anxiety, she closed her eyes was able to drift into a pleasant dream again.


	14. Episode 9 Part 1 of 3

A small tune sounded in the air, but neither of the trainers were awake to hear it. Michael's Umbreon was awake but he still rested beside his trainer. The Pokémon rubbed his face into his trainer's chest through his black shirt and continued to sleep soundly.

The two siblings and their Pokémon rested peacefully under the light of a new day. But upon awakening, they will embark on their most important adventures ever. Always remember to take the time you have and treasure it before leaving it behind.

Sometime later in the room…

"This is the T.S.S. Snagger Zark to Gateon Port, come in Gateon Port Light House please respond! Captain Gonzap wants permission to dock! Whoever is in charge here please call back.", a voice suddenly sounded through radio static in the room.

Michael opened his eyes. On the ground he turned his head to see his sister sleeping beside him with her sleeping Minun and Plusle sleeping together behind her on the makeshift pillow that is her yellow backpack. Jovi was snoring in her slumber

"Snagger Zark to Gateon Port, we're coming in hot whether you're ready or not!", the voice continued.

Michael drew his eyes to the shelf where he was shocked to see Dr. Kaminko's Haunted Radio has been left sitting there the entire time. He couldn't remember when Jovi put it there, but the red headed teen picked himself up and quickly walked up to the shelf with ears wide open. He brushed his messy hair off of his eyes as he waited for another transmission.

"M-MAY DAY! MAY DAY!", a voice shouted through the radio before a loud explosion was heard in the far distance away from Gateon Port's bay.

Michael's eyes widened in shock before he turned to quickly re-equip his stuff and returned his Umbreon back into his ball. He rushed out the automatic door into Gateon Port's pier to see a battle unfold in the sea under an overcast sky.

A miniature class of a metal frigate ship in the distance was smoking. In the air, two of Cipher's Gyrocopters hovered and flew circling the ship as distant shouts and cries could be heard from the vessel floating at sea. Michael tried to see who they were, but he couldn't make out the features of the crew.

A small crowd of awakened refugees investigate the loud distant sounds themselves. Michael turned to see Seth among the crowd with one hand over his eyes to shade his sight as he tried to get a better glimpse of the scene that unfolded. The red headed teen came up to him.

"Do you know what's happening over there?", Michael asked as he was clueless.

"It appears Cipher is attacking a ship that was on route to this port…", he deducted based on his observation of the far away scene.

Michael thought about the implications here. Who would come out all the way here with their own rusty cruiser to an empty region under siege by Cipher? Then he realized something he heard over the perplexing radio on the shelf.

"The Snagger Zark is a ship… belonging to Gonzap?... Is that Team Snagem's ship out there?!", Michael realized out loud as he thought about what he should do next.

"Gonzap? …. You mean the leader of Team Snagem?... THAT Gonzap?", Seth questioned as he looked moderately disturbed before looking back at the scene.

"That's right! Nett and the others sent out an S.O.S. call to reach Wes and any other people out there who could help us. Gonzap and his gang responded, saying that they'll get here to help us soon.", Michael explained before Seth shook his head.

"Well it looks like they're the ones that need help now…", the former scientist replied as he continued watching the scene.

Michael thought quickly. He could send his Lugia to go fight the two Gyrocopters, but it is too far away to direct Lugia's actions if anything were to go wrong. If he had his legendary birds he would set them out with his Lugia to provide reliable backup. But time is of the essence and he only had one option as far as he could see it.

"Lugia!", he called out his name as he sent him out.

The large legendary creature stood on the cement with wings spread wide ready for a flight. Michael sent him forward at his command just before running back to the smaller pier behind the crowd. He jumped into the cockpit of Robo Kyogre and awoke it out of hibernation.

He activated the propulsion jets for its tail and hover mechanisms in its large metal fins. The cockpit's windshield lid lowered itself over Michael's head and sealed him safely in his control center for the Robotic-aquatic vehicle. The red headed teen propelled Robo Kyogre past the opening in the rotating bridges of the town and unfolded its fins as the speed increased dramatically, vastly out-pacing a Hoenn-made speed boat.

Michael steered the Robo Kyogre toward the direction of his Lugia in the air flying towards the ship. When Lugia started entering the ship's air space shared with the Gyrocopters, the pilots swung around and began firing missiles toward the former juggernaut of Greevil's Cipher.

Lugia performed an aileron roll in the air to dodge the missiles. The Diving Pokémon then shouted in anger as he was given chase in the air by the two Gyrocopter pilots in their vehicles. All the while Michael drew Robo Kyogre to the ship's broadside and set it in a solid position over the bouncing water.

Keeping itself buoyant and stable with its hovering jets in its fins, Robo Kyogre's glass windshield over its cockpit slowly opened itself as Michael carefully stood up from his seat to call for the crew of the frigate.

"Gonzap!", Michael called out with his hands cupped around his mouth to amplify his call to the presumed captain of the vessel on deck.

The only response he heard was the sound of various shouting crew members above. He looked overhead to see the smoke still hasn't stopped rising from the deck. Michael couldn't see any ladders, so he sent out his Dragonite from its ball for a progressive maneuver.

"Dragonite! Carry me up!"

Leaving the Robo Kyogre to automatically keep itself running and stable, Michael was carried by his Dragonite up on to the deck. As he rose he could see multiple battles taking place between Team Snagem grunts and invading Neo Cipher Peons that appeared to have been dropped on the ship to fight the resistance one by one.

"Hey Kid! Get over here and help me clean this scum off my ship!", the familiar voice rang for Michael's attention.

Looking in the direction of the voice, Michael looked upon the elevated deck below the bridge to see a large muscular man with great arched horn-like eyebrows and a double mirrored lightning shaped giant mustache nestled under his nose reaching away on both sides of his face swaying in the air. Gonzap wore a black open commissar coat with the scar on his chest exposed. The coat had red coloring in its inner fabric with torn open sleeves. He wore black pants and black armored gauntlets with red patterns on their wrist and ankle edges.

He was busy battling with his Skarmory and Blastoise against a Peon's Magneton and Tentacruel hovering and crawling on the metal deck.

Acknowledging his request, Michael looked to the nearest Peon that was battling a Snagem Grunt with a Scizor against the Grunt's Mightyena.

"I wish I had kept my Magmar. Dragonite! Outrage! Hariyama, Belly Drum!", Michael commanded as he sent out his Hariyama for an immediate preparation for destruction.

Without warning, Scizor was tackled and met with repeated ferocious claw attacks from the disgruntled Dragonite. Scizor withstood the sucker punch with natural resistance, but Hariyama slapped a tune out of his belly in that time and powered up its Attack Stat to the max at the cost of half of its health.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!", the Peon called out Michael, seemingly surprised by how he managed to get on the ship.

With a quickly applied Hyper Potion, Hariyama lunged forward and pummeled Scizor to the ground with an Arm Thrust attack issued by her trainer.

Scizor's trainer was startled before he was forced to retreat in a blink of an eye with it's suit's built in security measure for Peons who were defeated on the field. The angry Snagem Grunt and his Mightyena couldn't catch the Peon in time before he blinked out of safety back to his base.

"Rrrgghhh! Those punks think they can bomb us and suddenly want to take us alive?!", the grunt shouted in anger before siding with Michael.

Snagem Grunts have very subtly changed their appearance since their last encounter with Michael four years ago. Grunts have kept their communication ear pieces hugging the back of their head, but their dress code appears to be unorganized with tattered black pants, red loose vests. Shoes appeared to be optional. The Kanji for Team Snagem's emblem was kept on their back. Instead of the choice of shaving their heads bald, most have adapted to wearing bandanas over their hair. They appear to be taking on more of a pirate look, opposed to Gonzap's loose commissar look.

"Let's go thrash em! Hurry up kid!"

The red headed teen lead his Dragonite, Hariyama and the Snagem Grunt with his Mightyena to battle the nearest Peon that stood watching his two Masquerains chasing a Snagem Grunt's two Beedrills.

Without hesitation the allied Snagem Grunt lunged forward with his Mightyena to tackle the Peon busy watching his Masquerains shoot Bubble Beam attacks towards the dodging Beedrills.

Michael stood by in hesitation as he watched the Grunt struggle with the Peon on the ground.

The Masquerain suddenly took notice their trainer was in danger and stopped giving chase to the Beedrills in the air. The Eyeball Pokémon swooped down and unleashed a defensive Bubble Beam attack, but the Peon had already recalled to his safe point, leaving his two Pokémon behind and the Grunt and his Mightyena on the floor where the enemy used to be pinned down. They took the hit from the Bubble Beam attacks, but they got back up angrier than they were before.

The Masquerains hovered in place, confused as to what they were to do now that their trainer has returned to base without returning them to their balls first. But they were struck down when the Beedrills stabbed them in their backs and continued jabbing them down until they crashed on to the deck. Mightyena joined the Beedrills in their merciless Fury Attack spree on the downed Masquerains until they stopped moving.

The Beedrill owning Snagem Grunt joined Michael's side as the Pokémon regrouped away from the Masquerains on the metal floor. Team Snagem's Beedrills and Mightyena along with Michael's Dragonite and Hariyama were united in this blitzing force.

Michael could hear scuffling downstairs between Team Snagem and Cipher's invaders. But his attention was drawn back to the sky with his Lugia continuing to dodge the missiles the Gyrocopters continuously fired in their chase across the sky.

"Those Gyros won't stop chasing Lugia! He can't get far enough to attack!", stated Michael as he watched the sky chase.

"We have a big gun under the forward deck. It can make short work of those copters with a well-timed shot but we need control of the bridge to raise it!", stated the Beedrill owning Grunt.

Michael looked to the bridge to see Gonzap holding his Electrode in his arms towards a Tentacruel and a Scyther that appeared to have been switched out with the Magneton that was previously there.

"Here's one for YA!", Gonzap yelled as he pulled back both of his arms and forcefully threw his Electrode at the opposing forces like a beach ball.

Electrode smiled and laughed as he suddenly glowed bright and released an explosion of energy. The explosion covered the air space in smoke, leaving a fainted Scyther, Tentacruel, and Electrode. The Poke Ball resembling Pokémon was immediately returned to its ball along with the opposing Pokémon to their respective capsules.

Michael led the blitz team up to the gangway stairs and led them up on to the quarterdeck. As they approached, they could see a Commander Peon kneel in defeat before being recalled back to his base in defeat. The company approached to see Gonzap communicating with his first mates through his earphones.

"Agrev! Biden! Wakin! What's the situation below deck?!", the captain requested a status report.

"The Mess hall has been left a mess! But it's been cleared!", Agrev reported.

"The engine room hasn't been breached yet, my Steelix is keeping the door blocked!", Biden shouted through the radio.

"Incoming!", Wakin shouted before the whole ship started shaking.

From under the deck, a Gyarados sprouted tearing metal and wood planks in its rage. Gonzap hissed at the damage dealt to his already smoking battle ship. Michael and company ran by his side to see the Gyarados up close before shouting a command.

"Hariyama! Body Slam!", shouted the red headed teen.

Hariyama jumped into the air and spread her arms out. The force of the Body Slam struck Gyarados and the rest of the ship like a meteor. Gyarados bellowed from the impact before slipping out of the deck and into the ocean with the fins of its tail slapping a Snagem Grunt off of his feet and falling on his back.

Gyarados rose from the ocean only a few feet from the ship's broadside. Overlooking the deck with water dripping from its head, the ferocious Pokémon let loose a Hyper Beam. The powerful beam of energy divided the deck, but no one was caught in the fire. Because of the Hyper Beam, Gyarados has been left extremely vulnerable.

"Bring it down! Dragonite, Outrage!", shouted Michael before the other grunts barked their orders to combine the attacks.

Dragonite rend and teared while Mightyena pounced and sunk his fangs while the Beedrills harassed Gyarados with repeated jabs and stabs in the facial region. The Atrocious Pokémon ceased struggled and shook before retreating under the surface of the water.

"Driton! Send out your Lanturn and destroy the Gyarados!", Gonzap commanded of one of his crew through a radio.

Emerging from the stairs below came running a Snagem Grunt with a Poke Ball in his hands. The henchman threw it into the air to send out a Lanturn belly down on the deck with its orbs on its dorsal antenna charging electricity. Driton gave the command to use Thunder on the rampaging Pokemon when ready.

Gyarados suddenly rose back up from the water below and immediately, Lanturn jumped up and let loose a quick solid bolt of lightning. It dealt cataclysmic damage to the Flying and Water type Pokemon before Gyarados crashed on to the deck laying face first into the hole from whence it came, tilting the whole ship with it.

It was returned to its Poke Ball by an unknown Cipher Peon hiding under the deck. Hariyama jumped back out of the hole and rejoined her trainer on the bridge at the cost of giving the whole ship another shake one more time.

"Confound it Cipher. They're playing this game dirtier than we ever have!", Gonzap exclaimed before hearing the roar of Michael's Lugia with the Gyrocopters hot on his tail.

"Gonzap! Those Gyros!", Michael requested his assistance as he pointed into the air at his Legendary Pokémon in need of help.

"Right! Let's get inside!", Gonzap complied, leading Michael into the bridge's primary entrance around the corner.

Gonzap punched the door open and rushed over to a control panel. Michael watched him press a series of buttons and switches before seeing panels on the forward deck begin to split a part, revealing a rising cannon aimed upward. The cannon itself was huge but it doesn't appear to be remotely controlled as there was a pilot seat behind its ammo box.

"Wakin! Get your scurvy little can on that cannon and blast those flying machines out of my sky! Pronto!", Gonzap demanded immediate action through the ship's intercom.

Out of the stairs came the familiar Team Snagem Member with the circular sharp shades over his eyes. He ran over to the cannon and sat on the pilot seat. In response, Michael ran out to see his Lugia keeping its distance from the Gyrocopters that refuse to be in its sight.

"Lugia! Fly in close to the ship's cannon!", Michael shouted to his legendary Pokémon in the air.

The Diving Pokémon dove down and glided around the cannon as Wakin aimed with his controller rotating the cannon and the seat he sat in. The Gyrocopter pilots noticed and swerved away from the cannon, abandoning their pursuit of Lugia in fear with their missile reserves now depleted. They turned tail to retreat toward Citadark Isle.

"Ready! Wait for it! FIIRRE!", Gonzap shouted in surprise to Michael standing by to see the vehicles fly away..

The cannon let out a loud roaring boom. In the air flew a smoking shell towards one of the two Cipher Gyrocopters. It made an eerie whistling noise as it flew in the air in an arch.

The pilots could see the explosive projectile heading towards them on their radar and panicked before they were both recalled to their save points, not wanting to risk injury in a fiery explosion. The gyrocopters were abandoned by their pilots before one was struck by the airborne shell and exploded as the other crashed into the ocean.

"Good thing those pilots know when to teleport …", Michael counted the blessing of not witnessing the unthinkable.

"Oh?", Gonzap asked with one of his great arched eyebrows raised.

"Yeah…. You knew that right?", asked Michael with an awkward smile.

Gonzap was silent with a straight neutral face as he knows nothing about this newly reformed Cipher and its organization. He remained silent with his great stretching eyebrows swaying in the wind. Michael scratched the back of his head with a nervous smile and a sweat drop down the side of his forehead.

"They have like… some sort of failsafe system on all classes of their Peons. So don't worry about shooting down any of their copters.", assured Michael that Gonzap won't be held responsible for such implied burdens.

"Captain! The lower deck has been cleared! They all just… teleported away!", announced a voice on the captain's radio.

"Right… well strike one for us!", Gonzap expressed his joy in their victory this day.

"And what a victory! You really are deserving of that title of honorary Team Snagem Member, kid! It's so nice to see you again after all these years!", Gonzap finally formally greeted Michael with arms open for a manly hug.

Without time to react, Michael was briefly embraced by the muscular bald pirate captain. He breathed a sigh of relief once he was released and chuckled with one hand scratching the back of his head.

"It's good to see you too! And not a moment to soon.", said Michael as his Lugia came down to perch on portion of the deck that wasn't completely destroyed in the attack.

Michael returned all of his Pokémon, as did the Snagem Grunts part of his blitz squad. Gonzap noticed the Snag Machine still mounted on the trainer's left arm.

"Say, you still wear that Snag Machine huh? Are you really so scrawny that in the four years since the last time you wore that thing, you haven't grown out of it a bit?", Captain Gonzap asked, curious about how odd it was that the Snag Machine could still fit him.

"Heh, I guess I haven't worked out much since those days. But I am taller, and I am stronger I'll give you that!", Michael assured he has grown in a way over the years.

"But enough about that. Let me explain what's been happening these past days."

As he placed his Poke Balls back into his bag, he was about to speak with Captain Gonzap over what had happened and how it began with Cipher's return until he was interrupted.

"Hold on. Please explain from the beginning. Having headphones over my ears all the time really did a number on my hearing so go slow."

Just as Michael was about to explain the crisis that is happening now, Gonzap stopped him once again before he could begin.

"Wait wait wait! Hold on a moment. Let's dock in Gateon Port before we have our chatter. We have fires to put out and repairs to execute. We'll talk once we're anchored and ready.", said Gonzap before turning to his radio to speak with his scattered crew.

Michael nodded in agreement and looked back out on to the miniature battleship's deck. The feeling of these unlikely allies coming to help them in their time of need was reassuring and for a moment, he smiled with the sea wind in his face.

It wasn't until he noticed something odd in the corner of his eyes. The two Masquerain that had been left brutally beaten had disappeared. He couldn't understand how or when they disappeared, but as he looked around for the answer to this question, he realized something much more concerning.

"Uh oh…", Michael said to himself.

Michael ran to the port side of the ship and looked at their trail. In the distance he could see Robo Kyogre continuing to bob in the ocean waves. He heard steps coming from behind him. He turned to notice Captain Gonzap looking at Michael's mech as well.

"Is that yours, kid?", he asked.

"Yep…", answered the red headed teen sheepishly.

"Oh….", reacted Gonzap before turning his to talk to his radio.

"Biden, get to the bridge and swing this ship around. Don't worry kid, we'll pick it up.", assured the captain after giving his order through the radio.


	15. Episode 9 Part 2 of 3

Michael docked his Robo Kyogre at its usual pier and emerged from the cockpit of his aquatic mech. From there, he walked past the port to join the crowd who watched the metal frigate begin to dock on to the long pier lined beside Makan's parts shop.

"That was quite a show you put on there.", a familiar voice rang from the group of spectators.

Michael turned to see Seth watching him approach from Robo Kyogre's pier as he stood at the edge of the group of curious bystanders. The red headed teen stopped walking and stood as he watched the magician applaud him.

"That was quite a show you put on out there! We could all see the battle from here. That finale with the helicopter destruction might have been a bit much though haha!", exclaimed Seth with a chuckle.

"Gyrocopter Pilots are recalled to bases before they get hit or crash. So don't worry about blasting one out of the sky, but I don't think Gonzap knew that… heh.", Michael admitted with one hand behind his hair and a smile.

"Gonzap… So that ship really does belong to Team Snagem? Why are they here?", asked the former scientist with great curiosity with subtle concern in his tone.

"Gonzap is a friend of mine. We fought Cipher together during the second crisis and made me an honorary Team Snagem member when I defeated him at the Orre Colosseum knock out challenges years ago. He's a nice guy if you get to know him! But he does behave a little rough.", said Michael as he viewed the Snagger Zark slowly docking at the pier.

An iron stairway plank was pushed forward and anchored itself on to the cement of the pier, prompting surprised gasps from the group of refugees. Among them, Eagun, Duking, and Chobin watched the Snagem Pirates begin deploying themselves on to Gateon Port's grounds. Michael plowed through the crowd to introduce Orre's last free people to their newest allies against Cipher.

Down the iron plank, a group of five Snagem Grunts marched forward and stood aside by the edge of the cement pier to let their captain through. Gonzap appeared from the top of the stairs and made his entrance with his formidable looking outfit. His boots stomped down the plank as his great mustache and eyebrows that reached for the air swayed in the wind with the tail of his tattered commissar coat.

As soon as he step foot on the ground, he looked about to see the crowd that was as silent as a flock of frightened Mareep. Michael was there to ease their minds however as he proceedingly reintroduced Gonzap to Orre's people.

"Everyone! Gonzap and his Team Snagem are here to help us!", Michael shouted with his arms out in a gesture of drawing everyone's attention.

"That is right. We have returned to fight Cipher! And though there is no profit to be made here, we answered the call of our friend Michael here to keep everyone safe from the coming storm!", exclaimed Gonzap.

Duking and Eagun approached with their questions towards the leader. Gonzap listened and he answered clearly.

"We will take you all off this land to our hideout across the sea. There you will be safe."

"But what of Michael's battle with Cipher's boss? If he wins, do we still have to leave? Or could we stay?", Eagun questioned as he thought of Agate Village's history to be preserved.

"Oh?", Gonzap reacted before he was briefly briefed by Michael on the deal Ardos and he made to put an end to this conflict once and for all.

Gonzaps eyebrows tilted inward in great concern and disbelief to what he was hearing.

"If you win this battle today, Cipher is finished?! But you would bet all of your Pokémon in doing this?! That is insane! Kid, are you sure?!", the captain questioned before Michael nodded.

"I see…. Well it is a gamble you will take. Should you win, we'll take anyone who wants off this forsaken land. Should you lose, we'll secure everyone on our ship and make our way across the sea as fast as we can.", said Gonzap before realizing he prompted a reaction from the red headed teen.

"I will not lose.", Michael assured, hearing a small cheer from the crowd.

"Then that's settled. We will need to make repairs to our ship and refuel our tanks but until the time comes my forces will occupy this city and keep everyone safe.", concluded Gonzap.

"Wakin, Agrev, begin securing a perimeter around the city. And Biden, bring out the Rhyperior specialists and deploy them by the entrance to the city."

"Right… how do we do this?", Wakin asked before Gonzap immediately answered.

"Like our heist on Honey Island except take our offense into defense in a less sticky situation.", Gonzap whispered his right gloved palm raised to cover his mouth and his words from the judgmental ears of the Orrean refugees.

The grunts marched back up to the ship to begin acquiring their materials and Team Snagem brand gadgets. Gonzap looked to Michael and requested a place for his crew to eat at. At his request, Michael reintroduced the captain to Duking who held residence in the Krabby Club's kitchen. Duking agreed to share his pots of gumbo with him before the pirate captain was suddenly approached by the magician who looked confused and concerned to see him.

Gonzap turned his heterochromia stricken eyes towards the blue eyed young man in his dark cloak. Seth looked at him as if he had something gross smeared across his forehead.

"And who are you kid? You look like you've seen a ghost!", said Gonzap.

"Are you really Gonzap?", asked the blue eyed former scientist very intrigued by his presence.

"Gaha! In the flesh! You must have heard of me when I was once Orre's most feared criminal. Haven't you?", responded the bare chested captain.

"You're not Gonzap…", Seth suddenly made an outrageous claim, freezing Michael, Duking, and a few nearby grunts.

"Oh? Do you think you know me better than I do?", Gonzap queried with a challenge.

"Gonzap had two brown eyes and doesn't make friends. He was ferocious and ambitious, which is why Cipher was so keen making him an ally long ago. You don't strike me ferocious nor does that eye of yours convince me that you were the boss of Team Snagem. Explain yourself.", the magician demanded as Michael suddenly felt a rising tension between his two allies as he watched the conversation unfold.

Gonzap sneered as he took a moment to remove the glove in his right hand. Everyone surrounding them watched as Gonzap suddenly too his hand to his left light blue eye and began peeling a contact lens off the surface of his eye. Seth's eyes were wide open along with his mouth in this stunning revelation.

"That's right, a colored contact lens. Nothing like taking on a different personality by changing the color of your eyes huh? I actually had two once but I lost my other lens long ago. Aside from skipping leg day and irregular exercise schedules, I could see why people wouldn't believe I'm the same Gonzap I was back in the glory days.", said Gonzap before slipping his light blue contacts back on to his left eye.

"As for how I act, kid, nobody is the same person they were nine years ago. You barely know me as I am right now, but if you want to know what's behind these cold eyes... You'll just have to claw your way through this disguise in a battle!", Gonzap challenged the young man.

"Then so be it.", Seth replied as he raised two Poke Balls into the air with his suit's telekinesis.

Michael was intrigued to see how this would unfold, but as the battle was about to begin he was interrupted by his sister who had recently woken up. He turned to see her holding the haunted radio in her arms.

"Good morning Michael! What did I miss?", she asked before seeing Gonzap's Slaking and Skarmory oppose Seth's Tyranitar and Noctowl behind her brother.

"I saved Team Snagem's pirate ship and they're here to help us but Seth and Gonzap are going at each other in a battle.

"Ohh! They're here! Awesome! They'll help us against Cipher won't they?", she asked rhetorically before spotting Chobin watching the battle unfold.

The blue haired girl rushed over to him to tap his shoulder. The swirly glasses wearing young inventor turned to be immediately met with the weight of an old antique radio in his arms. He reacted with a surprised gasp before he listened to Jovi.

"It's not broken! You can keep it! … Seriously.", Jovi stated after she bestowed him the weight of the haunted artifact.

"Guh? Okay? Chobin will give this to Fateen. Perhaps she can make sense of the voice inside this device.", responded Chobin as he held the antique radio in his arms and proceeded to walk towards Makan's shop.

With Chobin having left with the bane of Jovi's sleep last night, she turned to her brother with her usual cheery smile before the ground started shaking. The siblings turned to see Gonzap's Slacking using Earthquake, completely decimating Seth's Tyranitar before it fell to the ground. Seth's Noctowl and Gonzap's Skarmory was unharmed in the attack.

Tyranitar was immediately returned and replaced with Seth's Altaria with cotton-like wings spread wide.

Skarmory used Roar on Seth's Noctowl, triggering an immediate return and a sudden release of Seth's Houndoom on to the battle field. The magician frowned as he was annoyed by this tactic.

Slaking was loafing around however, giving Seth time to attack.

Skarmory was immediately engulfed in flames from Houndoom's counter attack, forcing it to crash into the ground and recall back to its Poke Ball to be replaced with Gonzap's Blastoise.

Altaria's Dragon Breath brushed against Slaking, but it was ineffective.

Slaking got back up and jumped at Altaria at Gonzap's command to use a move called "Giga Impact" unfamiliar to almost everyone who heard him.

Altaria was knocked out of the air and slammed into the ground with Slaking like a falling meteor. The Humming Pokémon coughed out a cry before she was left unconscious on the cement.

At the same time, Blastoise swamped Seth's Houndoom with Hydro Cannon and diminished its will to fight in that moment.

Seth returned both of his Pokémon, surprised yet amused at how quickly his team was decimated.

"Are you going to send out another two Pokémon? Or have you learned enough about me?", Gonzap asked with a laugh.

"It seems my Pokémon and strategizing skills require more training… I concede to you.", The magician admitted defeat.

With Seth having conceded, Prize Money was automatically awarded to Gonzap from Seth's P*DA to his.

"That's it? Not even your entire team? I must say I'm disappointed in you boy.", admitted Gonzap.

"I think I can live with that.", he answered as Gonzap returned his Pokémon to their balls.

"Fine then… may I at least ask who are you to challenge me?"

Seth stepped forward toward him as Michael and the others watched.

"My name is Seth. I am a former scientist from Cipher under Evice's era in Orre long ago.", he explained.

"I am… pleased to make your acquaintance… Seth…", said Gonzap as he offered his right hand for a friendly hand shake.

Seth looked down at his hand before he looked back up at the brown and light blue contact lensed eyes looking back at him. He extended his arm and shook.

As they shook, Michael noticed how the two were looking at each other's eyes. Gonzap was looking straight into his eyes. His expression was stern and menacing as they shook. Seth kept a stoic expression as he continued looking the boss in the eye. In a second, Gonzap spoke out.

"You're afraid of me… Aren't you?", deducted Gonzap with a frown.

"No…", Seth responded as he squinted his eyes.

"Don't play dumb with me… you're very afraid…", Gonzap continued his verbal assault

"I am not afraid of you…",Seth responded, standing his ground during the unwarranted rise of tension.

"Then why are you shaking?", Gonzap queried with a mischievous smile across his face, raising his legendary mustache.

Seth looked down to see he was still shaking his hand.

In that moment, everyone surrounding the commissar coated captain and the cloaked magician froze their breaths. Among them however, Seth was the most choked up in a frozen reaction and droplets of sweat splashing down on to the cement floor from the strands of his silver hair.

"BWAAHHAHAHAHAHA! HAHA!", Gonzap bursted out laughing a hearty laugh at his gag with a slap of his knee.

Laughter ensued surrounding them. Among them Michael, Jovi, and Duking were laughing along with some of Gonzap's crew members and his first mate Biden standing nearby.

"Ha… haha… I like your style friend…", Seth spoke out of his temporary stasis in time.

"Don't sweat it kid. We're off to the Krabby Club. My cook will appreciate having a day off.", the captain stated with a pat on his back.

"And you! Kid! Come talk with me at the club when you have the time. I need to catch up on what's been happening to my homeland."

Captain Gonzap made his way to the Krabby Club, leaving Michael, Jovi, and the now slightly perturbed magician behind.

"I guess you knew Gonzap too huh?", Michael stated his observation.

"More than you know… had it not been for Cipher, we would never have met. I doubt he remembers me, but I was the scientist that delivered your father's Snag Machines to Gonzap.", Seth admitted his connection to Gonzap.

"Wow! So were you two friends?", asked the red headed teen.

"No. I was there to deliver the Snag Machines and observe their progress with the technology in their Pokémon thieving. I merely observed and documented my time there near Eclo Canyon.", explained Seth further.

"…. Huh…", Michael responded taking in this new insight in Seth's history.

"So you've met Wes before?"

"I guess I might have, but I didn't document everyone's names. Only the team's progress with their work.", answered the former scientist before turning to the pier Robo Kyogre was docked.

"Among them I suppose was Wes. The most skilled Snagger in the team. He was cunning and capable of stealing Pokémon under people's noses and get away with it in an instant. He was revered as the best, but I wasn't there to see him betray everyone and blow up the hideout when he did." Admitted Seth as he watched the aquatic mech bob up and down in the water.

Michael looked toward the Robo Kyogre as well, wondering when the right time he should make his trip to Citadark Isle is. Seth turned back to him with something important to say.

"Before you go to Citadark Isle, consider catching up with the people around here first. Make sure everyone is ready to see you leave.", advised the magician.

"Right… I have Eagun, Fateen, Duking, and Gonzap to visit… and Kaminko too I guess.", admitted Michael as he looked around the town to see his number of destinations to speak with his friends one last time.

After a moment, he had pictured the order he would visit them, starting with the closest being Fateen and Kaminko at Makan's shop. He headed his way, waving at Seth who stood waiting by the pier.

"Hey Michael! Go on ahead, I'll be right with you!", Jovi said to her older brother before approaching the magician who was confused by her presence.

"What is it?", he asked.

"I have it! Poliwag! From last night!", Jovi exclaimed with a smile and a cheer as she lifted her yellow bag on her back.

"Oh really? Well show it to me! Send it out and let's have a look at it.", Seth requested her to provide the evidence of her completed capture.

Jovi pulled her bag in front of her and dug out a Poke Ball. She could see Poliwag clearly in the capsule this time. She sent it out with a toss of the capsule and presented in front of the magician was the Poliwag he summoned for her to catch last night.

"Here it is! Awwh it's so cute!", Jovi exclaimed as she sat on her kneels to get a closer look at her new Pokemon.

Poliwag took one look at its new trainer before it looked away with a disdained look on its little face.

"Huh? What's wrong?", she asked, unsure why the Pokémon is so bitter towards her.

"You caught it after it already fainted and ran away in battle. So naturally it will like you far less than a Pokémon caught that wasn't knocked out first. Such is the price of catching a Pokémon you desperately need to fill your party.", explained the former scientist.

Seth approached Jovi with an item in his hand. It was a small rhombohedrum shaped device with metal plates and small wires built into its core. Jovi stood up and held it in her hands to see its strange properties.

"This is called an X-ALL. It raises all the stats of a single Pokémon in battle by two levels, including evasiveness and accuracy. A very powerful device I smuggled out of the Cipher Key Lair with your brother. Use it wisely.", advised the magician.

Jovi gazed at it for a moment. She has never seen anything like it. It couldn't be compared to the Neo Evolutionary Key Stone however as it is of pure Cipher ingenuity rather than the refined properties of a mysterious element.

"Thank you Seth! I'll be sure to put this to good use!", assured the young trainer.

"It can only be used one time, so make it count!", advised Seth before he walked off towards the Pokémon Center.

Jovi beheld the item in her hand for a moment before putting it in her bag. Then she went to her Poliwag and tried to calm it. Though unsuccessful, she had the idea of introducing Poliwag to the rest of her Pokemon.

"Mimi! Pluplu! And… Lili!", Jovi called forth.

Surrounding Poliwag, Pluplu the Plusle, Mimi the Minun, and Litwick who is not at all used to his new apparent nickname stood greeting Poliwag with Litwick stopping to give Jovi a confused look for its new nickname.

"Welcome to the team Poliwag! We're happy to have you here!", she said with a cheer.

Poliwag waddled toward Mimi and Pluplu letting out a tiny squeak in communication with the two electric rodents. Litwick bounced by Pluplu's side to face Poliwag in a meaningful conversation between the four little Pokemon as Jovi happily observed.

"Aiee they're so cute!", Jovi squeaked from how adorable her Pokémon were.

The young novice Pokémon trainer took another look at their Poke Balls. She smiled until she noticed something odd. Jovi held Poliwag's Poke Ball in her palm.

"Wait a second… didn't I catch you with a Great Ball?", she asked before she started digging through her bag.

Through her excavation, she discovered a Great Ball that contained a Pokémon unbeknownst to Jovi. She stood up and held it, but she couldn't see what was inside.

"I caught this Pokémon last night! But wasn't this Poliwag?"

She sent it out, but it was immediately recalled back to its ball without even materializing itself for Jovi and her Pokémon to see.

"What kind of Pokémon is this? Why won't it come out?"

She held the Great Ball in her hands for a moment. The Pokémon inside still couldn't be seen. The oddity of the strange Pokemon in its capsule mystified Jovi for a moment before she turned to see her brother entering Makan's Shop to meet Fateen and Kaminko. She then thought about how Michael, Chobin, or even Professor Kaminko could help her release the Pokemon inside the capsule.

"I guess they could help me! Let's go meet them!"


	16. Episode 9 Part 3 of 3

Stepping into Makan's Shop, Michael could see Fateen at the counter with her Crystal Ball seated in a purple pillow. Michael approached her at the counter. The elderly fortune teller shook her head.

"I cannot tell you what your future holds… but the artifact that boy Chobin gave me has given me insight. The spirit within the radio is afraid…. Hopeful… yet also relieved for some reason…", Fateen explained as she turned to the antique radio sitting on the corner of the counter beside the wall.

"You got all that from that thing that was just relaying Team Snagem's transmissions this morning?", Michael asked with great curiosity over the absurd notion of supernatural intervention.

"I have been gifted the power. Last night I felt enlightenment from a shadow. The power resembling that from Agate Village has disappeared from Gateon Port, but in its place it left me with the power to look into the past with certain artifacts of interest…", Fateen further explained.

"Tell me child, have you found any peculiar artifacts in your adventure up until this point? If you present them to me, I might be able to see a vision pertaining to era of the item."

Michael thought for a moment before he remembered the Membership Card for a non-existent Battle SIM Club in Phenac City. He presented it to her. She took it from his hand and looked at it in her hands for ten seconds before placing it down on the counter.

"I need silence…. And dimmer lights.", Fateen said before hitting the light switches on the wall behind her counter.

"Now… I see…. Look into the crystal ball and you will see too."

Michael peered inside the gem. And from inside he could see the vision of someone facing the registration counter in Phenac City's stadium now beautiful with flowing water.

"Hey Wes!", a female voice called out.

The vision turned to see a an orange haired teenage girl with blue eyes and sprouting pigtails. She wore a desert sweater and a purple shirt with a white skirt. The vision blinked for a moment before the girl presented forward a card. It was the same membership card Michael presented to Fateen.

"Do you really think they will like this design? I hope the mayor accepts this. I don't want to go drawing another hundred designs again!", she said with a nervous smile and sweat.

"The project has been cancelled.", an unfamiliar voice rang, the vison turned to see a hardhat worker walking out of the large door

"Cancelled?! How can that be?!….", the girl asked surprised by the news.

"Speak with the mayor. It's out of my hands.", said the hardhat worker before walking past the girl and out the entrance to the stadium registration room.

The vision faded and the crystal ball was kept hollow.

"I see…. Disappointment… and realization…. Of limited opportunity….", said Fateen as she had her hands suspended in the air around the sphere.

"It seems Wes and Rui have realized how limited opportunity is here, but Wes as Orre's Champion of Champions allowed them to stay for a while longer before they left to see the world together.", shededucted.

"Do you have any more peculiar artifacts that might pertain to the past? Perhaps a pair of boots or something? Hopefully something pertaining to the two?"

"I don't think so….", answered Michael with regret.

"Unfortunate… Perhaps if you were more explorative in your adventure up until this point, you could have found more artifacts for me to draw more visions from. But all is not lost. I believe Gonzap may likely have a memento or two. If you speak with him and he has an object of importance, return here to be given insight into the past before you have your battle for the future.", advised Fateen as she looked to the light switch and flipped the lights back on.

Just after the lights were lifted, the automatic doors opened to reveal Jovi walking inside with her little platoon of Pokémon following her through the doorway. Michael and Fateen looked to see her holding a Great Ball in her hands as her Minun, Plusle, Litwick, and Poliwag bounced and hopped aside to explore the emptied store shelves.

"Hey Michael? I caught a Pokémon with this Great Ball you gave me, but it won't come out!", she exclaimed as she walked up to show him the curious capsule.

Michael held the Great Ball in his hands. He couldn't see what was inside either, but in every angle he looked inside he could see a silhouette of a Pokemon barely visible under a smokescreen of darkness.

"May I have a look?", Fateen requested as she held out her hand.

Michael looked to his sister for her approval. She nodded her head before he proceeded to hand over the Great Ball to Fateen.

The elder held it up as she adjusted her star shades. She then took off her star shades off to examine the silhouette inside the capsule with her own naked eyes.

"This…. This proves the time has finally come for all of us", she said, putting the Great Ball back on to the counter.

"What?", Michael asked as he and Jovi stood by the countertop looking down at the capsule.

Fateen put back on her star shades and breathed a sigh of concern.

"The Pokémon inside is none other than Celebi.", she revealed.

The siblings stepped back with their eyes wide and their minds blown to the notion that the younger of the two actually caught the mythical Pokémon of Agate Village's forest last night. Jovi's mouth was open in shock and Michael was completely overtaken with confusion and concern.

"C-Celebi?! You're joking?!", Michael insisted before seeing his sister react.

"Isn't that good?", Jovi asked, unsure of how to take this in.

"If what you're saying is true. Celebi is waiting for the opportune time to reveal itself. I suspect Celebi and the spirit inside the radio are connected to each other in one way or another. As the vision I shared with you, Michael, was a look into the past with the use of that membership card.", Fateen explained.

"Such is the power of Celebi. To arrive in the past, to share visions of the past… it must have escaped Cipher's attack in Agate Village long before they even returned."

Michael looked to the membership card on the counter and remembered how he obtained it. A roaming figure in the night stopped him and left the card in its place in the ground on their way back to the HQ Lab. The strange event was quickly forgotten about, but this made that memory relevant again.

"What does this all mean? Has Celebi really been watching over everything this entire time?", questioned Michael out loud.

"That nightmare I had last night. Someone was shouting for help in the radio but someone was also in the room just before that someone escaped through the door. But when I tried to wake Michael up, I woke up to him waking me up from my nightmare!", Jovi exclaimed before Michael noticed her Poliwag among her other three Pokémon running around the store.

"When did you catch that Poliwag?", he asked with curiosity.

"Last night Seth summoned it for me and I caught itwith a Great Ball... or so I thought. But this Poliwag is in a Poke Ball and the Great Ball I used catch Poliwag caught Celebi instead! I guess that's how that happened…", Jovi stated as she wasn't sure how it all happened.

"No one must know about Celebi. Do not mention any word of that has been discussed here to anyone! If Cipher knows you have Celebi, they will likely descend upon you to steal it as soon as possible! Hide the Great Ball in your bag. Do you understand?!", Fateen urged a response.

"Y-Yes! I understand.", Jovi answered the slightly disgruntled elder.

"Of course.", Michael added his response.

Fateen turned to see Chobin at the stairs looking confused. The siblings turned to see the inventor's aide just arriving down the stairs. Everyone was silent, but Chobin broke the silence.

"Chobin heard nothing! Chobin promises not to tell. But Chobin needs to guide Chobin Bot back outside after Chobin Bot experienced a malfunction last night! Please make way.", he requested as the stomps and metallic whirr of a prototype Robo Trainer made its way down the stairs behind the swirling glasses wearing boy.

After Chobin lead his metallic double out the door to resume patrolling the town and left the shop himself to inspect his upgraded Robo Groudon hidden in Gateon Port's storage yards.

"Keep Celebi safe in your Great Ball. You cannot let anyone know Celebi is in your possession…. Celebi will know the right time to present itself.", Fateen advised.

"This is all so strange… does Celebi know something we don't?", Michael questioned out loud though nobody could answer.

"And Michael… Do what you must before you go to Citadark Isle. But if you could find one more artifact from Gonzap, I will channel the power Celebi has bestowed upon me to see the past once more just as I have now. We must put our faith in ourselves for today is the last day to decide Orre's future.", advised Fateen one last time.

Michael nodded in agreement. He walked to the stairs to ascend up to find Dr. Kaminko to consult with once more before leaving to speak with his other friends waiting for him across the city.

Dr. Kaminko was sitting in a lone desk in the center of his newly acquired bedroom. His wrinkles shown through his face and his long large mesa of gray hair wilted. The swirly glasses over his eyes couldn't hide his tired demeanor.

"Is that you Chobin? Oh… hello boy.", Kaminko greeted with a small rasp in his voice.

"Hello doctor! I'm just here to check with you once more before I go to Citadark Isle today.", Michael greeted.

"Oh. So your time has come again… well well my boy. I have faith in you and my Robo Kyogre to pull through again. Maybe after this is all over, we can make more inventions together yes? Without the help of any charlatans from some region called Kalos preferably… Mmgh?", Dr. Kaminko expressed interest in further study in the field of useful machines.

"Maybe… yeah… but I think we're going off to some place far from Orre after this. There isn't anything else left here to help or build… unless we become relevant again but who the heck knows how or when that will happen.", admitted Michael.

"Tch… It seems we relied too heavily on the outside world for our own good. But I can see where you are coming from my boy. I would love to finish our prototype for Robo Rayquaza someday soon with your help. Chobin has always been the best aide I could ask for, but I'm afraid he still has much to learn before he could ever dream of filling my shoes.", replied Dr. Kaminko as he continued drawing on a piece of paper on the lone desk with an ink pen.

Michael approached to look at the paper he was drawing on. It was a crude doodle of Chobin riding a serpentine Robo Pokémon into the sun. His swirly glasses were too big and his arms were waving hysterically in the sky. The red headed couldn't help but let a single chuckle escape from his mouth at the absurdity.

"Like it? My boy Chobin always said I was a visionary.", Kaminko admitted.

"Of course Doctor. It's… a very clear vision indeed.", said Michael as he eyed the scribbled flames coming out of the robotic Pokémon's jets.

"Ah well it's coming along nicely. But unless you defeat Cipher, I'd calculate the odds of us seeing any form of Robo Rayquaza up in the air is three thousand seven hundred and twenty to one.", the doctor said.

"We're counting on you for us to continue our project any way we can after this is all over. Go give them your best shot!"

With Dr. Kaminko's blessing, Michael returned down the stairs to see Jovi holding the Great Ball in her arms as Pluplu and Mimi were on her shoulders. She appeared to have returned her Litwick and Poliwag, judging by their absence from the scene.

"Can I follow you around a little more Michael? Could we go have breakfast together at the Krabby Club?", she requested of her older brother.

"More like lunch at this point huh?", stated Michael, referring to the time.

"Yeah heheh… Hopefully Duking still has some gumbo leftover."

"Or if we're lucky he cooked up something new! Let's go sis! But first let me stop to see Eagun and Beluh at the Pokémon Center."

Fateen watched the two exit the shop. Michael and Jovi stepped out of the door and made their way out of the district back into the town square infront of the few piers where Robo Kyogre awaits its departure.

The clouds above remained gray, but the refugees who were watching Team Snagem's grunts build small barricades around the entrance to the city didn't mind the possible precipitation. Michael looked to see Biden was deploying some sort of strange device shaped like a vending machine, but it had arms and wheels.

"What is that?", Michael asked.

"It's a mobile dispenser! Our boss reworked those broken bulky Snag Machines left behind in our hideout ages ago. We couldn't make new Snag Machines to use, but he repurposed them to hold and provide Pokémon medicine instead.", Biden explained as he kicked one of the mobile dispensers in its right wheel.

Taking a look at the machine, it was all rusted on all surfaces. It had a streak of red paint across its flat metal roof. Michael approached it before he froze to see one of its two arms reach into its tray and offer a Full Restore while the other arm reached to offer him an Ether medicine.

"Take em and keep em. But don't go hording the stuff. Someone has to resupply these mechs and they aren't cheap!", warned Biden.

Michael looked at his sister beside him who was also offered a Full Restore and Ether. She took them and verbally thanked the dispenser though it did not respond at all to her expression of gratitude.

"Also kid… may I ask what the heck is that thing over there?", asked the high ranking Team Snagem Grunt pointing at Chobin Bot walking up the stairs of the entrance to the city with a clang in every step.

After a brief explanation from Michael and disbelief from Biden, the siblings walked their way to the Pokémon Center. Upon walking inside, they could see groups of elders and younger citizens waiting anxiously for what today's battle will bring. Some were from Pyrite Town, others were from the suites in the Realgam Tower, and the elders were all from Agate Village.

"Hey Michael! Good to see you!", Ostix the female Chaser greeted from behind the nurse's counter.

"Ostix? You know how to run a Pokémon Center?", asked the red headed teen.

"No. But it's not gravel science to just put Poke Balls in a bunch of sockets in a healing machine isn't it?", answered Ostix with a chuckle.

"Right… have you seen Eagun and Beluh?", he asked, prompting an answer from the long tailed bandana wearing woman.

"They're right upstairs. Try to be careful with Beluh though. She's a little…"

"I know.", Michael assured he knew about her condition.

"Yeah… well take care. We're all waiting on you to to see Cipher gone real soon.", Ostix said as she returned to her stance behind the counter.

Jovi followed her brother rising up the stairs to see more refugees camping on floors and seats across the second floor. Behind the direction of the stairs, Eagun and Beluh were sitting together in a silent meditation on the couch as three Pikachus and a single Raichu were huddling together in a corner to sleep.

"Eagun? Beluh?", he called their names.

"Ah Michael. To think Team Snagem is here to help us after being gone for so long. I never imagined I'd see a day like this.", Eagun expressed his shock over the recent events outside.

"Snagem? They haven't come to steal from us have they?", Beluh asked with her eyes barely open.

"No my love. They're our friends. They're Michael's friends.", Eagun explained to Beluh with one hand over her shoulder.

"Friends? Oh… that's good… I'm glad…", said the large knit cap wearing elderly lady as she struggled to keep her mind clear.

"I'm going to go to Citadark Isle soon. If there's anything I can do for you before I go…", the red headed teen offered .

"Michael. Do you remember when the Relic was destroyed that night?", Eagun asked as he reached into his pocket.

"I still have some of the shrapnel from the bomb. I'm not sure if it helps since we know who the enemy is at this point."

Michael looked at the charred metal piece of shrapnel in the Myth Trainer's hand. He picked it up to examine it closely. Despite the story it told of Cipher's successful attempt to destroy Celebi's Relic, it served no other purpose to anyone.

"I don't think I'll need it…", Michael said before Jovi interrupted.

"What about what Fateen told you? Do you think that could be an artifact?", asked Jovi.

"Huh? But she said she wanted things pertaining to Wes and Rui. But she never said it has to be them alone I guess…", Michael said, trying to think back to what she said.

"What's that? Seth?... He's a magician... but I haven't seen his show yet.", answered Beluh to her own question.

"My love please. Nobody has mentioned Seth in this conversation.", Eagun said trying to correct her behavior.

"Oh… hello Michael! Jovi! How did you sleep last night?", Beluh asked irrelevant to the conversation.

"Oh it could have been way better.", Jovi answered with half a smile and a hand behind her hair remembering the nightmare.

"Please find our granddaughter…. I hope she's alright…", Beluh pleaded, changing the subject extremely quickly as her sad expression changed.

Michael and his sister were speechless as to how to respond to Beluh's constantly changing behavior. Eagun held his arm around his ailing aged soulmate and wiped a tear from her wrinkled old cheek. Beluh kept herself calm in her husband's embrace.

"We believe in you Michael. Please go forth and save us from all of this. If I were but a little younger, maybe I could have handled this myself… win for me will you?", Eagun wished for the red headed teen's victory.

"Please…", Beluh pleaded.

The red headed teen sighed at the weight of his burdens and nodded. Eagun put the scraps of shrapnel back into his pocket as the siblings made their way back to the stairs. Taking one last look before she left, Jovi could see Beluh and Eagun comforting each other in wake of recent events and revelations.

"Rui is gone isn't she?...", questioned the saddened elderly lady.

"We don't know my love. We just don't know… but we'll find out some day I'm sure…", Eagun replied as he continued to hold her close against his long white beard over his blue robe.

Continuing to follow her brother, the siblings made it out of the Pokémon Center to enter the Poke Mart next to the building. Inside they found Sailor Monar and Rider Dert discussing their plans after this is all over. They paid no attention to Michael and his sister rising up the stairs to find Seth sitting comfortably in the emptied second floor where the Herbal Lady and her Munchlax used to lounge years ago. Seth was sitting with his Noctowl perched beside him with its eyes closed.

"Ah have you talked to everyone yet? You should eat at the Krabbly Club first before you go.", suggested the magician to the red headed teen who approached him.

"What are you doing?", questioned Michael.

"I'm sitting here with my Noctowl waiting to see you off in your Robo Kyogre. You?", countered Seth.

"Just checking with everyone at least once like you said I should.", answered Michael.

"Good. Good I knew I could count on you… but I have a question for you out of pure curiosity.", Seth requested permission to question.

"Oh?", reacted Michael as his sister sat at Noctowl's side opposite of its trainer before the trainer suddenly spoke.

"Have you ever flown on a Pokémon before? I would have thought it would be easier for you to get to the ship on your Lugia, but you went through the trouble of hopping into your Robo Kyogre instead to get all the way over there… Why?"

Michael was surprised by this question. He never thought about flying on the back of any winged Pokémon before. He thought about his fear of heights that was conquered his first time he climbed Mt. Battle to the very summit. In his training, he earned himself three special Pokémon from Battlus that were kept safe and happy under his ownership, but not once has he thought about jumping off of one of the hovering platforms on to the back of one of his great Flying type Pokémon to soar across the sky. Seth interrupted his thoughts.

"I mean, seeing your Lugia sent across the sky towards the battle got me thinking… All he did was distract the copters in the air. But if you were with him, you could have had a better, more tactical advantage I'd think…"

Michael thought for a moment before he spoke his response.

"I suppose… but none of my Pokémon know Fly."

"Fly? Oh please… that HM is honestly too stupid to exist. Listen Michael, let me let you in on a little secret.", the former scientist requested of him.

Michael leaned his right ear forward to listen.

"Tell this to no one, but Pokémon that can fly don't need to learn the move Fly to fly. It's a secret to everybody. All you have to do is climb on and they'll keep you in the air for as long as you want them to. Understand?"

"In fact, a lot of HMs exclusively produced in regions with Pokémon Leagues in them are really stupid. Have you ever needed the help of a Pokémon to cut a tiny sprouting tree in your way?"

"I can't say I have…", Michael answered truthfully.

"Or needed a Pokémon to use its strength to help you push large objects?", Seth continued.

"Well… no.", Michael answered again thinking back to the number of times he pushed giant crates of Pokémon food through various halls and mazes to get to where he needed, not to mention the giant metal boxes he pushed into lava in Citadark Isle long ago.

"No sir you don't. That's because we're naturally smarter than the average trainer you'd see under these League Regions in how they're taught. If a little rock is in your way you climb over it. If there is a big box in your way, you'd push it yourself unless you absolutely need the help of your Pokémon. Don't let a sprouting tree mean the difference between reaching a Pokémon Center in the middle of nowhere or letting your last Pokémon in your party faint from poison. Let that be a lesson to you, and you Jovi since you're the one going to be a real trainer soon.", the magician said urging the blue haired girl to listen.

"Oh? Aren't I already? I mean I've caught like five Pokémon already haha! Er-I mean four. I've caught four Pokémon.", Jovi said quickly fixing her mistake from subtly revealing the presence of her unexpected mythical Pokémon.

Seth paid no attention to her mistake; instead he got himself up from his seat and returned his Noctowl to its Poke Ball. The magician sighed before thinking.

"I think I'll pay a visit to the Krabby Club. Maybe I'll put on a show once more on this special day for old time's sake.", Seth proclaimed before walking toward the stair case.

"I'm inviting you both to see my show once more before you go. Have your lunch and a show at the Krabby Club."

The magician left the room. The siblings were left behind. Michael was deep in thought over the concept that never occurred to him in all of his years of being a trainer. He has always heard of Pokémon flying their trainers, but not once as he thought of riding on the back of one of his own Pokémon himself.

"To fly on Lugia's back…. If trainers like Red can fly over the rainbow… then why can't I?", Michael asked out loud.

"Good question… Could I fly too?", Jovi queried with her own curiosity.

"Maybe when you catch yourself a big feathered friend too! I suppose, yeah you can! But you better be careful that you hold on real tight to your Pokémon once you're in the air."

"Well that's a no-brainer… So are you going to fly to Citadark Isle instead of riding the Robo Kyogre now? Michael?"

He thought about it for a moment, but the red headed teen replied, shaking his head.

"No. The electrical storms in the sky might shock us. It would be too risky to take to the air around the island's air space with their reactivated storm generator. ", he answered putting the climate around Citadark Isle into his logical response.

Jovi understood as she wouldn't like to imagine a bolt of lightning zapping her brother and his Lugia out of the sky. It would be a very anti-climactic end to this story.

"Let's go the Krabby Club. I can talk with Gonzap and ask for a memento if he has one and watch Seth's show as we eat. I haven't eaten since yesterday, have you?", he asked her.

"Nope! I'm hungry!", she immediately replied.

The two agreed to make their way back down the stairs. Monar and Dert had disappeared along with their conversation, but it didn't matter to the siblings as they stepped out the automatic door of the shop without a hassle.

The clouds still blanketed the sky, but in the patio of the Krabby Club three Team Snagem members lounged about drinking fruity drinks and discussing topics among themselves. Michael and Jovi stepped up the few steps on to the patio and entered the Krabby Club to see the people inside.

Scattered sitting around various tables were Gonzap's crew, laughing and devouring the food Duking could quickly serve out. They were slobs with spilt fruity drinks and gumbo across the dining area. The lack of hands in the establishment proved detrimental to its cleanliness.

"Ah Michael! Kid come sit with us and have a bowl on me!", Gonzap invited the red headed teen at the door.

"None of these are even paid for! What do you mean it's on you?!", Duking shouted from behind the counter at the stove to contest the notion that he is getting paid for giving out free bowls of food.

"Well never mind then, sit down and just have one! Gahaha!", Gonzap corrected his offer with a laugh as he raised a glass full of a fizzy soda.

Michael didn't argue as it was in his plans already. But before he walked forth to join them he asked if he could let his sister sit too.

"Of course! Any family of my family is my family too!"

And so the siblings walked across the dining area to meet with Duking at the counter. He tossed two ceramic bowls full of hot gumbo and sunk two silver spoons in both of them. As they took their dishes, they were asked what they would like to drink.

"I'll have a Pecha Berry Smoothie!", Jovi requested.

"Sorry, we're all out of that.", Duking answered.

"Oh…. well do you have an Oran Berry Shake?"

"Nope."

"Oh…. well what DO you have?", she asked up front.

"Just Aspear Juice. These pirates took everything but the small bit of Aspear Juice I have left…", Duking shamefully admitted with a hand behind his head and a sad frown on his face.

"Then give us that!", Jovie immediately requested in response to their options having dwindled so much.

Michael didn't add any commentary as he watched Duking work to pour them two glasses of plain Aspear Juice. The siblings thanked him and took their bowls across the tables full of lounging and laughing grunts.

Their glasses settled around the captain's table as they pulled their chairs up to be seated. Captian Gonzap finished chugging down his fruity drink and laughed with a small drop of red Razz Berry wine almost escaped him through his ever impressive mustache.

"Gahaha! Well then young lad and lass. I can see clearly Cipher has plans for the people gathered here in Gateon Port. I must ask however, who's idea was it to bring everyone together like this?", he asked with one of his powerful eyebrows raised.

"Oh? It was mine! We were hoping to get on your boat and leave this dead region for the better of all of us.", Michael answered.

"Yours? You don't say! Well have you ever considered the disadvantage we have here, keeping all of them bunched up like this?", he quired, prompting Michael to furrow his brow with concern.

"What do you mean?", the red headed teen queried back.

"It seems this whole time you were rounding up the rest of Orre's populace to this particular city. And just now Cipher has challenged you to a duel you cannot afford to lose or they will swarm down here and capture every one of us like the Wild Pokémon Rush Duking and Agnol lead years ago… Do you suppose they were expecting this?"

Michael fell silent. He looked down with his red eyebrows tilted inward as he never thought of this possibility before. Jovi could see the concern on her brother's face and tugged on his blue backpack to get his attention.

"Hey, don't worry about it too much. You gotta eat to get your energy for your battle today. We all believe you can do it again! And we know you can do it again!", cheered Jovi with a grin before she proceeded to shovel a spoonful of Duking's gumbo into her mouth.

"You're right... but now I can't help feeling like… like something horrible might happen soon.", Michael expressed his sprouting feeling of anxiety.

"Hmm…. Well I need to ask you something, captain."

"You have my permission. What is it, kid?", Gonzap asked him first.

"Do you remember Wes?", Michael presented Gonzap his question that urged him to furrow his impressive eyebrows in thought.

"Of course I do… It's hard not to forget the kid… after what he did to us nine years ago. But back in our glory days, he was the best grunt in our ranks. He wielded that arm-mountable Snag Machine Evice provided us like he was born to snag Pokémon. He was a cunning and efficient thief, but then one day he decided he didn't want to be part of us anymore.", Gonzap explained as he looked at the surface of the table in his thoughts.

"I don't know what made him change, but I don't think he knew the Pokémon we were stealing were being used to supply Cipher for their Shadow Pokémon experiments… I suspect that could have been enough to make him go rogue on us all things considered."

"Well, do you keep something to remember him by? Like anything at all?", Michael questioned, hoping he'd have a memento of some sort.

"Yes… but don't get me wrong, I am not a sentimental kind of guy. I found his shades in Kanto during an operation of ours to ste…. To 'buy' the special prize Pokémon they sold in the Game Corner of Celadon City. Through tedius hours of honest gambling in their slot machines I assure you…"

"So Wes was in Kanto! But what was he doing there? Was he with Rui?", asked Michael eager to know more about this mystery.

"I cannot know for sure… I heard that he even went on a Gym Badge collecting spree and challenged the champion at the Indigo League… but I can't remember if he won or not."

"He won, but he refused to take the title.", a grunt said suddenly joining the conversation.

"Ah, Zardo. You've heard of what happened in Kanto haven't you?", asked Gonzap to one of his crew members approaching the table.

"Wes won, but he didn't want the title. From what I remember, he had a special grudge against Kanto's Pokémon League. Something about the discrimination against foreigners with unregistered origins… he didn't want to be a champion of such a region."

"But why wouldn't he?", another grunt asked approaching the table along with Zardo.

"He must have hated them that much if all he wanted was to pummel their Pokémon into the ground. But could I blame him? Orreans are treated like dirt in regions that have Pokémon Leagues.", Zardo replied to the other grunt.

"Could one of you please fetch Wes's desert shades from my quarters on the Zark? Our friend here wants to see it.", Gonzap requested of the two grunts.

"Yes captain!", Zardo answered before running off through the automatic front doors.

"You are excused Niver. You may return to your seat.", Gonzap dismissed his crew member.

The siblings and the captain were left at the table. Jovi had finished her food and drink, but Michael was much slower in his consumption as he continued pondering the mystery behind Wes and the final battle ahead of him today.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming on to the stage of the club. Everyone turned to see who was present in the entertainer's spotlight.

"Good day to everyone! Captain, Champion, and the rest of you here to protect and conserve the last of us", Seth's voice boomed, silencing the chatter between the grunts and the conversation at the captain's table.

"I, the amazing Seth the magician, am here to present a magic show. And in my show I must emphasize, I only ever use REAL magic. So be prepared for something truly unique today.", Seth proudly stated as he eyed at the crowd through his newly acquired dark glasses.

"We will start through the magic of Neo Evolution! Go forth Altaria!", he shouted, levitating Altaria's Poke Ball and summoning it out of its capsule.

Altaria stood casually on the floor of the stage. Seth exposed the gauntlet over his left arm through his cloak and shined an orange light. Altaria flapped into the air and transformed in a swift cocoon of light into an unfamiliar, augmented form of Altaria with its cotton-like wings suddenly expanded in size and radios. The impressive fluffy bird Pokémon hovered in the air, but it looked like it was in pain from the transformation, as it was expected to be.

Gasps could be heard from the crowd of pirates. Gonzap huffed an impressed grunt at the revelation of such power. Michael and Jovi continued watching with their attention undivided.

"Altaria, Feather Dance. Allow me to float your cotton feathers into the air."

"His suit can let him use Pokémon moves…", Michael whispered to his sister.

"Fascinating!", Jovi exclaimed out loud.

Sshhh!", Michael shushed his sister as they watched various cotton-like balls of feathers float around the air space.

"Everyone keep yourself seated for this next phase…. Three… two… one…", Seth counted down before raising his arms up and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly the feathers in the air ignited into small floating balls of fire. Everyone in the room including Duking was in awe of the act. The floating wisps slowly detreated into ash and fell on to the ground, some into the soups of some unsuspecting grunts.

"Good Altaria. You've graced us with your help and your presence. Return to your ball."

Seth returned Altaria and gave a bow to the audience. Jovi clapped for him, but the magician immediately stood back up and called out to the crowd.

"For the next trick I demand a volunteer from the audience! Which one of you is brave enough to stand with me?!"

Michael immediately lowered his head as he remembered the last time he put on a show in the Krabby Club. Seth looked about before pointing his black gloved hand towards one of the pirate grunts.

"You there! Care to volunteer?"

There was silence, but Seth called him up and raised his arms gesturing him to step up and come forth on to the stage. A common Team Snagem Grunt rose and stepped forth to climb on to the stage with an expression of anxiety on his face.

"Good. What is your name sir?", Seth asked him.

"Uhh…. My name is Jedo.", the grunt replied.

"Glad to meet you sir. Now What I need from you is to stand up straight and face the audience."

Jedo did as he instructed.

"Now keep still and relax your mind. Keep your mind clear and prepare for my hypnosis.", Seth further instructed as he exposed his gauntlet once more.

Everyone watched as the magician placed his left hand over the forehead of the grunt.

"You are now under my control. Sleep and when you awaken you will be an angry Primape. When I give the word to stop, you will stop and return to your normal self… Understood?"

"Y-Yess…..", Jedo answered in a strange trance-like manner.

"Three… two… one…. Open your eyes!", Seth demanded before stepping back.

Suddenly the Snagem Grunt dropped to the floor and started grunting and huffing like a Primeape. He shrieked and mimicked a Primeape's cry before running around with a hunch on his back and his fists constantly touching the floor.

Gonzap and the rest of his Team Snagem viewers were in disbelief of what had happened to their comrade. Michael and Jovi couldn't help but laugh at the Snagem Grunt doing his best Primape impression.

"AyAahyaape!", shrieked Jedo as he jumped down from the stage and started running on all fours towards the exit of the club.

"Stop!", Seth shouted, stopping Jedo in his tracks.

Jedo's eyes were open and he suddenly realized the awkward position he was in. At the door he was on all fours about to escape on to the patio and potentially terrorize any unsuspecting refugees or grunts wandering the streets.

Gonzap couldn't help but laugh at what had just occurred. Jedo stood back up and walked back to his seat with his head low in embarrassment.

"Thank you Jedo. Let's all give him a round of applause!"

The sound of clapping reverberated across the club before it was silenced. Seth addressed to the crowd once more.

"I'm am very happy to have been here to present one last sample of my show before our friend Michael here heads to Citadark Isle to face Cipher's leader once again.", Seth proclaimed.

"But for one last trick, I require everyone to stay in their seats as I will admit; this will get be very unique…. Allow me a moment to channel my power…"

Michael and Jovi watched, curious about what he could be showing next. Gonzap waited patiently for what this last trick could be. Seth stood still on the stage. He remained still and silent with his eyes closed and his expression stoic in mental concentration.

Suddenly beside the captain's table, Seth arrived picking up the empty dishes. Michael, Jovi, and Gonzap were shocked to see the magician at his table so suddenly when he was just on the stage. Looking back on to the stage, he was also on the stage.

All around the dining area grunts gasped as they saw duplicates of Seth suddenly coming to their tables and picking up their empty dirty dishes. The squad of magicians grouped together and carried their bowls, cups, and plates to the kitchen as Duking stood in shock with his jaw dropped at the number of dishes being dropped by these very real dark cloaked mirages.

The illusionary replicas disappeared instantly one by one after dropping the dirty dishes they carried. Once they had all disappeared, the room's attention was brought back to the original incarnation of Seth standing on the stage.

Seth was still keeping his eyes closed. As he stood he slowly became transparent and phased out of existence before their eyes.

"Impossible…", Gonzap reacted, unable to believe his eyes.

"That trick… he must have been using the same Cipher technology Nascour was using to turn him invisible. But was that other trick? Was that Pokémon move his suit let him use?", Michael analyzed to himself.

"Impressive… but nothing will ever beat Razell or Dazell if you want my opinion.", the captain stated his humble opinion.

"That was awesome!", Jovi expressed the joy she had from the little magic show.

"It was pretty cool! I'll admit it.", said the red headed teen.

Just then the automatic door opened. Zardo had arrived with a peculiar silver desert shade in his hands. He proceeded immediately to the captain's table and presented the memento to the group.

"Ah here it is! The desert visor.", stated Gonzap as he took the shades into his own hands.

He presented it to Michael and his sister. The red headed teen held the visor in his hands. He looked through the looking glass. He could see his reflection, but the color of his hair was dulled silver and the color of his eyes disappeared along with the blue of his headband.

"This is definitely the boy's visor. I found it lying in the middle of a road in Celadon City and I recognized it instantly. But I have never seen Wes himself since our last confrontation six years ago. Three years after he betrayed us…"

"To think of all the stories this could tell us if it could talk… Wes and his adventures…. Could I keep it?!", Michael asked suddenly, prompting Gonzap to frown with curiosity.

"What? Why would you want this? Don't you already have a pair of protective eye wear hanging around your neck?", the captain asked.

Michael looked down toward his chest to see he did indeed still have his goggles though only ever used zipping across the desert. He shrugged before answering to the captain.

"Trust me… I need this visor. I'll give it back to you real soon I promise.", the red headed teen promised with a fist out of his left machine-mounted hand raised beside his face with a nod.

"Hmm…. Very well lad. Take it… Awh heck you can keep it. Maybe it will serve as a good luck charm to yah when you go beat down Ardos again!", Gonzap gave him his blessing.

Michael thanked him with a smile. He stood up and motioned his sister to come follow him. Jovi did as he said before waving back at the captain before they walked out the automatic door way.

Upon stepping down the steps of the patio, Michael was greeted with the magician standing before him.

"Hello! …. Did you like that little show?", asked the magician before looking down at the visor held in Michael's hands.

"Oh yeah it was awesome! I loved how pretty those cotton feathers looked in the air especially after they turned into fire balls!", Jovi said.

"It was pretty cool! Thank you so much for showing us another set of tricks again, but I have to know, what was that last move? It was a Pokémon move from your suit right?"

"Yes it is, in fact, it is a yet to be discovered move. This technology can emulate many Pokémon moves, but some moves in its roster have yet to have a name. I couldn't move myself when I used it, but my images that carried the dishes to the kitchen were mine to control. It must belong to a very powerful Pokémon if there is such a thing.", explained the former scientist with a thoughtful presumption.

"And that part where you turned invisible, that wasthat Cipher technology too? Because my Aura Reader couldn't pick it up.", Michael questioned again.

"Haha no. That time I simply used Teleport to blink myself outside. I'll be honest I didn't like standing in front of that crowd of… pirates.", Seth admitted, remembering the look the grunts gave him on stage.

"Well you made it through right? Now let me and my sister go for a moment. I need to be somewhere before I head to Citadark Isle really soon…"

"Oh? You're finally leaving?! Fantastic! I'll make preparations! I'll gather everyone to see you off on your aquatic mech and return triumphant! I'm sure… just curious however, where did you get that peculiar little visor?"

"This? Gonzap had this. He found it lying in some street in some city called Celadon City… he thinks it belongs to Wes but he couldn't confirm it for sure. But he's certain that it is...", Michael explained why he had the visor in his hands.

"Are you planning to wear it or something? It might suit you if you take off that blue headband.", the magician suggested.

"Umm wasn't planning on it…", answered Michael as he looked down at Wes's visor in his hands.

"I don't think Wes would mind if you wore it to be honest. Dead or alive, I would think he would be honored to have his headgear worn by someone with such an honorable cause as yours.", the magician stated as he looked down at the visor and envisioned it on Michael's head.

The red headed teen took a moment as he held the visor in the grip of his left machine mounted hand and his right hand. He thought about how easy it would be to just put it on for a moment, despite it belonging to a potentially passed champion from a different era in Orre's history.

"Ehh…. Erh….. Okay okay hold on.", said Michael before quickly slipping his blue sweaty headband off of his head, releasing his bunched up red spiky hair.

With the headband hanging the gap between his right finger and thumb, he placed the visor over his forehead. The magician squinted his eyes as Jovi also witnessed this new look from her brother. Michael's green eyes looked back and forth between his sister and the former scientist

"Well? What do you think?", the red headed teen asked with the visor nestled in his hair.

Seth

"Hm…. It's just your size… but try putting it over your eyes.", Seth suggested.

Michael lifted the visor off of his head and slowly placed it over his face. Through the looking glass his outlook on life was much blurrier and more chromatic than before. With his right hand he wiped the dust off of the glass. He could see much clearly now, but the sun blocking properties of the visor kept his vision restricted to a tint of gray.

"Not bad… If you mind me saying so…", the magician nodded with a little smirk.

"You look so cool Michael!", Jovi added seeing the unique style Michael has suddenly taken.

"Ah thanks…. But somehow I don't feel like it's right for me to wear this…", admitted Michael as he took off the shades.

"Understood. You don't need to wear it if you don't want to, but you do look half-way decent with it, to tell you the truth.", the former scientist admitted with a nod.

"I'm off to spread the word. When you're ready to leave, check with me by your Robo Kyogre and we will see you off to fulfill your destiny once again.", Seth announced before he started to walk calmly towards the Pokémon Center.

Michael took the visors off and re-equipped his blue headband. Despite how cool he might have felt, he could never see himself worthy of taking on the façade of impersonating a hero that has been rumored to have passed long ago.

"Let's go Jovi. We'll get this over with.", said Michael before Jovi obediently followed him to the door of Makan's shop.

Once they had arrived however, Fateen was there to greet them. She took one gaze at Wes's shades and was struck with joy as well as a tone of anxiety.

"This is perfect! Unfortunately my dear, I'm afraid you cannot have your sister here to observe this. The concentrated images by the power Agate Village's guardian has given me are meant for you alone. Leave her out here.", she advised Michael.

The red headed teen turned to his sister, who then shrugged and stepped backward from the scene.

"Sorry Jovi.", said Michael to her.

"No its fine. I don't mind waiting out here and watching the ocean waves like we used to. Have fun in there!", wished Jovi with her usual cheery smile.

Michael entered the parts shop, leaving Jovi outside with her thoughts as she stood near the edge of the concrete over the seemingly bottomless ocean. If she squinted her eyes, she could barely see the dark island her brother will be visiting shortly under the gray sky.

"Hm… I wonder how many trainers are out there like my brother…", she thought to herself.

The blue haired girl looked toward the magician who was in the opposite side of the port town, talking with groups of refugees. Some of them were from Pyrite Town while most of the elders were from Agate Village.

"Celebi…", Jovi thought to herself before she dug into her yellow backpack to bring out the Great Ball supposedly containing Agate Forest's guardian.

She peered through the blue surface, but she could only see a small dark maelstrom of nothingness. Whatever Fateen saw, she couldn't see herself. It perplexed her, but she snapped out of her brainstorm when she heard a small bark in front of her.

Lowering her Great Ball, she discovered an Umbreon standing before her, looking at her with its red eyes opened wide.

"Umbreon? What are you doing outside of your ball? Michael's in there!", Jovi said to the little Dark Type Pokémon.

The Umbreon gave another small bark and motioned his head toward the stairs leading toward Gateon Port's gateway before running off with the grace across the concrete. This perplexed the blue haired sister even more.

"Huh?... Where are you going?", she asked before she quickly followed the Pokémon up the stairs.

Upon passing by the barricades Team Snagem had placed and rising up the stairs, Jovi could see various Team Snagem Grunts patrolling the parked vehicles in the area. She didn't feel the need to hide from them, but the Umbreon seemed too skittish to be seen in the open as it hid under trucks and behind their wheels.

"Kid? What are you doing here?", an approaching pirate asked when he spotted her

"I'm following an Umbreon. I think it's my brother's Umbreon but… uh I don't know…", Jovi ended her answer as she wasn't really sure what to make of this situation.

"Is that so… well don't get into any trouble. Give us a holler if you see any of Cipher's goons.", recommended the grunt before going on his way.

Jovi watched him leave for a moment before Umbreon reappeared infront of her. She looked back at him before the Pokémon ran around the broadside of a truck. Not taking a moment to hesitate, she followed him and came across a Kaminko's flatbed truck. Robo Groudon was missing, but it was likely driven by Chobin to be parked and maintained in a nearby garage.

Sitting on top of the flatbed truck however was a purple item chest. Umbreon hopped upward on to the surface and daintily stepped around the box. Jovi was intrigued.

"What is this?", she asked as she pulled herself up on to the flat bed.

She knelt down and opened it. Inside was a strange crescent shaped moon charm choker necklace. It was beautiful, and Jovi felt a growing need to hold it in her hands.

"Who's is… who's is this?", she asked as she held it up in front of her.

The charm itself seemed oddly hypnotic to look at. The yellow surface of the crescent moon was beautiful. She slowly put it around her neck. It was a perfect fit.

"… This is nice… uh thanks Umbreon?", Jovi asked before turning to see in her surprise, Umbreon sitting beside an Espeon, both looking at her with patient eyes.

"An… an Espeon? … What are you doing here? Where is your trainer?"

The Umbreon and Espeon did not answer. Instead they gracefully dropped down from the flatbed truck and ran across the sand as Jovi stood watching them disappear behind a pair of hover cars. When Jovi investigated further by looking behind those vehicles, she discovered there were no Pokémon to be seen... as if the two had Pokémon had disappeared without a trace.

Jovi took off the moon charm choker necklace and held it in front of her for a moment. She then stashed it into her backpack before returning to Gateon Port's plaza to watch the waves of the ocean.

Inside Makan's shop, Michael handed over Wes's desert visor to the fortune teller. Fateen held it in her hands for a moment. She placed it next to the crystal ball on the counter and with one hand over the shades and the other over the crystal ball, she focused her mind and channeled the power she was bestowed as Michael waited patiently in his seat.

He looked into the crystal ball and waited… but nothing happened.

When Fateen lifted her starshades after three minutes of channeling the energy, she was confused to see that the crystal ball was not displaying any image for either of them to see.

"I don't understand… this is a perfectly viable memento… maybe this doesn't belong to Wes?", Fateen suggested a possible explanation.

"Oh… Gee I can't say anything for sure... you're saying it didn't work?", Michael asked to clarify the results of this session.

"I felt it work, but it is not showing a vision of any sort in my crystal ball… how very odd.", Fateen expressed her trouble with the failed ritual.

Michael looked toward the desert shades and lifted it in his hands. He held them for a moment before he slowly felt the urge to put them over his eyes. Fateen watched as he put on the desert visor before he suddenly became unresponsive to her call as he sat looking through the glass.


	17. 4: The World in his Eyes

**The World in his Eyes**

Night has fallen in Kanto. The sky was bright under the moon and the breeze was soft and cool. On this night our hero of Orre of has arrived on the scene in Celadon City in this foreign land far away from the world he once called home.

Wes stood at the gateway from Saffron City, returning from his previous mission at Silph Co's building. His eyes were covered under the protection of his gray desert visor and his recognizable blue trench coat and heat-protective black suit under his coat.

He passed through Route 8 without resistance from the neighboring nocturnal Wild Pokémon. He strolled silently with his thoughts coursing through his mind. The words echoed through his ears with the soft breeze of the wind.

"…. Promise me….. Promise me…."

The young man walked into the city. The buildings were tall and the people were droll and silent. In the corner of Wes's eye, he could see a male Ace Trainer keeping watch over a corner beside the city's main department store.

The Ace Trainer was leaning back against the wall tossing a Poke Ball up into the air. He looked smug, but he was caught off guard by Orre's Champion suddenly approaching him.

"Oh? So you want a battle huh? Well I won't go easy on…."

Minutes later, the Ace Trainer's Amphoros and Octillary were decimated by Wes's Raikou and Umbreon. All Pokémon were returned to their capsules. Prize money was awarded to the victor, and the loser watched the victor walk away with the spoils.

The Pokémon Trainer from a Distant Land ventured forward. Toward the town square he seated himself on a bench and pondered to himself. He was met with the same question over and over again as he tried to figure out how to complete his new mission.

"I… I don't know…. For once in my life I honestly don't know how I'm going to do this…", he said to himself as he slipped the visor on his head over his eyes.

"I can't think… maybe I just need…. I just need… I need to find some help… but who? Who here in Kanto of all regions would know anything about…."

Wes growled in frustration. Though he knew what I must do, he could not understand where he would start. Suddenly someone started walking in his direction. At this time of night, Wes was not afraid to meet a midnight thug with his slightly unusual Pokémon composition ready to fight. He took a glimpse to see a strange man in a brown noir trench coat and a comb-over hair style with a stern expression on his face.

"Mr… Wes… I presume?", the strange man addressed him.

"Who wants to know?", answered Wes in a defensive manner.

"I am with the International Police…", the man introduced himself as he showed his badge and identification.

"Code Name: Looker. I'm here to arrest you and put you under custody of the International Police force."

"W-What?! You came out here to arrest me?! On what charge?!", Wes asked in his defense, standing up from his bench.

"Your history shows you were once a criminal in a distant land called the… 'Orre', region… we have had multiple arrests from there, but among them you eluded us for the longest time. When you brought attention to yourself when you refused to take the title at the Indigo League, I was sent with the warrant and here I am.", Looker explained.

Wes was in disbelief. Behind his visor his eyes were shaking and his eyebrows were furrowed with anger. He casted his eyes upon the special agent that has been sent to have him taken to join his enemies behind concrete walls and realized the absurdity of the situation.

"I… I was the one who destroyed Cipher! I was the one who saved this world from turning into a massive violent brawl years ago… and you're coming to ME, telling ME that I'M under arrest?!", Wes began raising his voice.

"Sir, do not attempt to resist arrest. You-"

"Do you have…. ANY… idea… what I had to deal with these past few days?... Hahaha…. Do you?!", Wes warned.

"You hold a massive amount of Pokémon that have Original Trainer IDs not belonging to you. That thing on your arm is the criminal tool you used to steal them.", Looker offered his reason to arrest him.

"It's broken, and you should get your facts straight, sir…", countered Wes feeling the amount of spite he had for him rise.

"Either way… you're coming with me. And I have back up behind me if you're tempted to resist arrest any longer…", Looker tipped him off to the platoon of armored policemen yards behind him.

"I did nothing wrong… the only thing I regret was coming here to see how you've treated us and any poor son of a gun that had to come from the Orre Region… and for that I think I'll repay in kind.", said Wes suddenly feeling a surge of adrenaline with a wide smile across his face in anticipation for the satisfaction this victory will bring.

The battle began!

Wes sent out Umbreon and Espeon to oppose Looker.

Looker sent out his only Pokémon, Croagunk in surprise to the sudden attack.

"Psychic! Bite!"

Croagunk was immediately attacked psionically through his senses and tackled with a ferocious, but low impact puncture of fangs.

Croagunk fell with battle scars to take back to its capsule.

Wes was victorius! Prize Money was not awarded.

"Croagunk!… Squad! Move in!", Looker called for backup and signaled their approach.

Wes and his Pokémon kept their stance as Looker retreated from the town square. An army of police officers clad in padded armor and riot gear.

Wes stepped forward with his Umbreon and Espeon by his side.

Three Policemen sent forth an Arcanine, a Magneton, and an Abomasnow.

In response, Wes sent out Tyranitar to oppose them.

In the night, Arcanine rushed forward with a Flamethrower attack toward Espeon, combined with Magneton's Thunderbolt attack.

Espeon withstood the attacks, but barely stood as he unleashed a counter attack with Psychic at his trainer's command towards Arcanine.

Umbreon made the opposing Magneton confused with Confuse Ray.

Tyranitar unleashed a Rock Slide attack, dealing a large amount of damage to Arcanine and Abamasnow with minimal impact toward Magneton.

Arcanine fainted, but in retaliation, Abamasnow unleashed an Avalanche attack toward Espeon.

Under a pile of snow, Espeon was forced to be returned to its Poke Ball.

Immediately replacing Espeon, Raikou was sent out. Replacing Arcanine, a Poliwrath came forth with fists held up high.

"Make it rain!", Wes shouted.

After Raikou used its Rain Dance, the stars in the night sky were suddenly blotted out by storm clouds. The precipitation brought a drizzle of rain, growing into a downpour as the battle escalated.

"Thunder! Tear them apart!"

Raikou did so, along with Tyranitar. The two Pokemon unleashed wicked bolts of lightning toward their targets.

Poliwrath was struck and immediately dealt with.

Abamsnow was hit but despite the ineffective impact, it was enough to bring it down from its previous injuries.

Magneton hit itself in its confusion, but Umbreon was instead returned to its Poke Ball to be replaced with a Pokémon, proof of Wes's noble cause in Orre long ago.

Ho-oh was sent out. The opposing forces paused to take in the surprise brought to them by the rogue. The Rainbow Pokémon immediately bit Magneton with its impressive strong beak and despite the rain, blasted the Steel and Electric type with a blast of fire.

"Ho-oh?... As if Raikou isn't shocking enough!", Looker expressed his surprise with no pun intended.

"Ho-oh lent me his power on top of Mount Battle in Orre after recognizing my efforts. Almost all of my Pokémon were monsters once. I purified them and brought them back to their lives they had stolen from them. I saved the people that grew to love and forgive me for what I used to be… Together we strive toward the same goals.… You don't know anything about us, but I know everything about Kanto and its conceited people… We aren't like you…", Wes expressed his disdain towards Kanto as a whole.

"We are going home! I will keep the promise I made her, and none of you are going to stop me!", he proudly proclaimed as he directed his Pokemon's attacks with a point of his finger.

The mob of Policemen rushed forward, joining the three Policemen already engaged in batle, sending out a random assortment of Police Pokémon including Machamps, Machokes, Growlithes, Poliwraths, Magnemite and Magneton.

In response, Wes sent back out his Umbreon to even the odds even a little bit.

"Raikou, Thunder! Tyranitar, Earthquake! Umbreon, Confuse Ray towards our left flank and Ho-oh, we're plowing through this with our Sacred Fire!"

His Pokémon did as was instructed, beginning with Raikou dropping a massive bolt of lightning on a single target in the opposing crowd of enemy Pokémon.

Tyranitar let loose an Earthquake across the ground, shaking the opposing crowd off their feet and sustain a steady stream of damage.

Umbreon kept attackers at bay with a Confuse Ray in their way, all the while Wes and Ho-oh synched in their rage together.

Within the perfect storm, Ho-oh shrilled a frightening cry as it spread its wings out, in synch with Wes spreading his arms out as he shouted in the rain a battle cry of unbridled rage towards his wrongdoers.

Ho-oh charged with its sacred flames unhindered by the rain. The International Police forces blasted and singed within the path of the legendary fire bird. The surviving Pokémon that withstood the attack retaliated, taking down Tyranitar with a Machamp's single Cross Chop attack.

Raikou dropped another bolt of lightning on Tyranitar's nemesis and took him out before the rest of the opposing Pokémon attempted to rush them.

Ho-oh swung it around as the panicking Policemen ran out of its way before it swooped in for another deliverance of its sacred judgement. This time there were no Pokémon left to stand in Wes's way.

In the flames that were quickly put out by the rain, the mob of Policemen returned their respective Pokémon in their combined defeat.

The victor stood beside his Ho-oh, Umbreon, and Raikou now victorious over the International Police forces.

"I… I think we'll need more back up…. We'll let you go this time, but we will have our eye on you… kid.", Looker warned before he retreated along with the rest of the strike force.

Wes stood basking in his triumph, but the feeling did not last long. The adrenaline quickly faded and the feeling the victory gave him was lost. As he looked around he could see he was left alone again with his Pokémon who had aided him in not getting confiscated by a police force with a deluded sense of justice.

"Thank you everyone. I will treat you all to a Pokémon Center real soon…", said Wes to his Pokémon.

Raikou was returned, following him was Umbreon who was looking up at him with his concerned red eyes, and then hesitantly but eventually, Ho-oh who stared at its trainer with its eyes and a patient stance with its folded beautiful wings. The large majestic bird stared, and Wes stared back as the rain was beginning to fade.

As he looked into the legendary bird's eyes, he came to see that he clearly wasn't well. He lifted off his visor to see a faint reflection of his face. He could see through his own yellow eyes in the surface of Ho-oh's eyes that we had begun deteriorating since the tragic incident three days ago.

"…. You're right…. I'm not okay… I need … I need to get home somehow… if I still have a home to return to... together we will keep our promise… we'll keep them safe… I just need your help… if you'll keep me as your trainer… we'll do it together…. Well find a way.", Wes said to Ho-oh with assurance in their cause.

Ho-oh remained still and silent for a moment before it spread one of its large beautiful wings over its trainer to his surprise and began grooming his messy spiky silver hair. Wes's eyes were wide in shock but he smiled and laughed it off as he felt the giant beak start picking through his messy hair.

"Haha fine fine… I'll go find a nice hotel room with a shower near a barber shop… I think she'd want that from me too heh…. Always nagging me like she used to…."

" I miss her..."

Michael raised the visor from his face. The first thing he saw was Fateen looking at him through her star shades with concern. The red headed teen realized what he saw was indeed a vision from the past in through Wes's eyes. Michael explained what he had seen to the elderly fortune teller.

"I guess it did work after all…", Fateen said as she was handed the visor back from Orre's modern day champion who had just gone through the most bizarre experience he has ever had.

"Rui wasn't with him… maybe… maybe she is….", Michael said shaking his head in lament for Wes's loss.

"Indeed…. My heart goes out to the boy, wherever he may be...", Fateen said.

"But do not mention anything about what you have seen just now to anyone, not even Eagun or Beluh about their granddaughter. The time has come and you must not hold any more burdens. Time will heal and tomorrow will come again once you have defeated Cipher once and for all.", she advised with a serious tone.

"Understood… I will not fail.", Michael said as he stood up from his chair.

"Thank you Miss Fateen. I'll be back soon."


	18. 3: Champions

**Champions**

Michael, now ready to leave for Citadark Isle once again, walked through the opened automatic doors of Makan's shop to see a small gathering of people and Team Snagem grunts around pier Robo Kyogre has been docked. The first thing he looked for was his sister, who was busy looking out into the ocean waves.

Jovi was silent and serene as she looked out into the ocean with the wind blowing through her hair. When Michael approached her, she broke out of her gaze and turned to greet him.

"Oh hey big bro! So how did it go? Did you see anything?", asked Jovi with a friendly smile as she felt her hair continuing to blow into the wind.

"I saw… something that's for sure. It definitely had to do with Wes… and I think I could assume what happened to Rui…", Michael answered as he joined her in looking out into the ocean with the wind blowing through his red spiked hair.

"Oh?", she asked in response with curiousity.

"I think Rui… uh…. Well… erhm…", Michael hesitated as he immediately regretted the notion of letting his younger sister of all people know about a person's passing.

"It's alright… I think I get what you're trying to say.", said the blue haired girl letting her brother relieve himself of needing to reference the mortality of someone they have never even met.

"Oh you do? Heh, alright well…"

"If it wasn't Wes… then Ardos must have been talking about Rui right?", asked the blue haired girl.

"Well I can't say anything for sure. The vision showed me something from who knows how long ago, but there wasn't anything saying Wes could also still be alive or not… I don't know…", Michael said regretfully.

"Too bad we couldn't solve that mystery before now… but maybe we can solve it after you come back from Citadark Isle! You think?", asked the little sister as she looked back at the ocean.

"Maybe if we go to Kanto after this is all over… we still have to find Mom and Professor Krane safe and sound. Them and the rest of the prisoners they took.", Michael said remembering the crew with Marcia.

"Yeah…", Jovi replied with a nod followed by silence from the two of them.

They watched the ocean waves under the gray sky for a moment before sounds of people gathering near Robo Kyogre's pier could be heard. The pitter patter of footsteps and small chattering from the gathering crowd eventually intensified. Michael turned to see Agate Village elders, Pyrite Town's rebels, and Team Snagem's grunts all gathering before the magician who stood near Robo Kyogre patiently watching over the group. Gonzap, Duking, and Eagun were among the crowd as they pushed themselves through to wait beside Seth to see Michael on his way. Dr. Kaminko slowly stepped forward from Makan's shop with Chobin's aid. Following them was Fateen, and following her from the corner of the district was Chobin Bot absentmindedly following the crowd his creators mingled in.

"I guess they're waiting for you big brother… are you ready for this?", she asked him with a sympathetic smile.

"I think I'll need to arrange my team first… lets go to the Pokémon Center! One more time for old time's sake.", Michael suggested with immediate agreement from his sister.

In a moment, the siblings were in Gateon Port's Pokémon Center. Michael was at the PC arranging his team. As he busily exchanged his Pokémon, Jovi waited patiently before a thought hit her.

She quickly put down her yellow backpack and dug through her items. Though she shoveled through her stuff and checked every pocket, she couldn't find the odd choker necklace she just found. Michael turned around to see her struggling to find something very hastily.

"What's wrong?", he asked her.

"I can't find it! I found this moon charm necklace earlier in an item chest on top of Dr. Kaminko's flatbed truck but I can't find it in my bag!", she exclaimed in a slight panicking tone.

"Really? Where did you have it last?"

"I had it in my bag. I put it in my bag after I found it after following someone's Umbreon to it…"

"An Umbreon?", questioned Michael before Jovi continued.

"And there was an Espeon too! I thought that Umbreon was the Umbreon that we always knew, but it seemed like it wanted me to follow it and find this really pretty moon necklace."

"I didn't let my Umbreon out earlier…. But wait, you said there was also an Espeon out there?", Michael further questioned with great interest.

"Yeah! … do you know who it belongs to?"

"No, but in my vision through Wes's visor I saw that he owned an Espeon and Umbreon!", Michael responded as he vividly remembered the two Pokémon Wes happened to own.

"Really? Well they ran away and disappeared when I tried to follow them… it was so weird Michael…"

"Where did you say you got this moon necklace? Jovi?"

"In a purple topped item chest"

" Just like the others we ran into this entire adventure…", said Michael thinking back to Evice's extremely misplaced ID Card found in Undermine.

"The SIM Battle membership card… the ID Card Evice lost but stole back from me when I was knocked out through the Warp Station… the Celebi in your Great Ball and now this Moon necklace?"

"But I can't even find it now, Michael. I've dug around everywhere.", Jovi said as she continued kneeling beside her yellow bag trying to find what was lost to her.

Michael knelt down beside her and fished into the open pockets of her yellow bag as well. He grabbed hold of something and pulled it out from the deepest part of the Key Items Pocket. In between his sister and him, Michael held up the choker necklace with its crescent moon hanging in between them, slowly turning in place.

"You found it?!", Jovi expressed her astonishment as she slowly found herself staring into the crescent moon charm.

"I guess so… who does this belong to? Do you think? … and do you think they want us to keep this? If what you're saying is true, there is definitely a third party involved in this battle against Ardos's Cipher…"

"A third… party? What do you mean?!", she asked unsure of what he's saying.

"It could be Celebi… but who put that Membership Card in our path home that night? Who do you think keeps leaving these Item chests all over the strangest places? There's something very wrong here… there must be something more than just Cipher misplacing their stuff in purple Item Chests…"

Suddenly the automatic door opened. Jovi broke out of her hypnosis and instinctively swiped the moon charm bracelet from her brother's hands and stuffed it back into her Key Item's Pocket. The siblings turned to see the former scientist at the door way looking curious.

"Hey Michael? Are you ready yet? We're all waiting for you to win today!", Seth exclaimed to him.

"Yeah! Yeah don't worry I'm all set now… I guess.", answered Michael uncertain of anything else he could possibly do before his voyage.

Michael stood back up and walked forward. Seth stood aside and let him through. He took a moment to spot Jovi who was also quickly standing up from the floor as she swung her yellow bag over her back.

"What were you doing on the floor? If I may ask?", he asked with one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"I was showing Michael something I found! Uh… want to see it?", Jovi offered.

"I think I'll pass. Thanks though.", Seth said as he seemed more interested in seeing Michael's moment in the pier.

The magician disappeared through the door way. Jovi followed, but not before trying to find the necklace herself again in the Key Items Pocket… but to no avail.

"But I saw him put it in there… why can't I find it?!"

She closed the pocket and put it over her back again. Jovi figured that she would simply find it later if she wanted to, but now is not the time to dawdle with mysterious accessories. She knew well that in these next moments, Michael would be off to Citadark Isle to ensure the people's freedom from Cipher once again. And soon everyone's eyes and hopes would be on her brother.

Gathered around the entrance of the pier were Agate Village's few elders, Pyrite Town's remaining refugees, and the rest of Orre's surviving citizens mainly from the Realgam Tower. Guarding over them however were the Team Snagem pirates that had assembled themselves in an orderly line forming an aisle for Michael to pass through to the few steps on the stairs down to Robo Kyogre's pier.

Duking and Eagun approached Michael and Seth who was following him. Jovi caught up in time to hear their conversation that followed.

Duking spoke first to the red headed teen.

"Michael! I have faith you will be victorious today. And soon we will get my daughter back together! Marcia and the rest of the crew… even Bitt if he hasn't gone too far off the deep end."

Michael turned to Eagun to hear what he had to say.

"Michael… though I know I shouldn't have anything to be afraid of, I want to remind you to keep it safe out there. Be prepared for anything and for our sake and the sake of your Pokemon… please be careful in your final battle."

Michael nodded. A hand was placed over his right shoulder. Seth was there to give him a pat as he spoke to him too.

"Believe in yourself. Believe in your Pokemon. Tomorrow will come and we will all be victorious tonight."

Michael gave a smirk at the magician who smiled back at him before the sound of a single Team Snagem grunt dropped a large gray box of soap on the cement ground behind them. Surprised, both Michael and Seth turned to see Biden and his captain standing beside the crate.

"In my crew, I always give a speech to raise the morale of my hands before starting a mission. If you have anything to say to all of your friends and family, lad, now's the time!", Captain Gonzap strongly suggested as he stood with his buff arms crossed across his chest.

Michael was shocked at the sudden notion. He hesitated as he spoke nervously.

"M-Me?! I didn't think of anything say… I-I didn't expect this…"

"That's fine kid, but you literally have all of Orre looking up on to you. No pressure, but if you could relieve some of their pressure...", Gonzap suggested not bothering to finish his sentence as he watched Michael ponder with his brows furrowed.

He nodded and took it upon himself to stand on top of the crate to look over the crowd for the speech he will be making up as he goes. Jovi stood with Eagun and Duking as they waited for him to speak to the crowd with their countless eyes on their champion.

"So… uh… everyone… Friends… family and friends.", Michael addressed as he waved his right arm towards the crowd and the group of Team Snagem allies gathered in front of him with their formation broken.

"I am…. Uh… We're…. erh…"

Michael couldn't help but stutter out of fear. The people in the crowd were looking at each other with doubt and uncertainty for their champion.

"G-Gugh… Why did Gonzap have to suggest this idea?!", Michael thought to himself as he found himself wanting very much to step off of the crate and run for the Robo Kyogre to get it all over with.

"Your champion… everyone.", a voice suddenly broke the awkward silence.

The crowd gasped. Michael turned around to see a familiar foe stepping down the steps of Gateon Port's gateway into the city. Behind him were two large black Commander Class Peons that followed him down the steps and established their presence opposing Orre's last free people.

"A-Ardos?! What are you doing here?!", Duking shouted angrily.

"I've come to inspect my prize… and it seems to be guarded by a platoon of criminals and traitors. Gonzap, why are you here with your ragtag team of pirates?", Ardos requested an explanation of the captain's cause.

"That's Captain Gonzap to you! We are here to help a brother out, and our mission is to protect what's left of Orre here in this town from the likes of you!", the captain explained.

"Gonzap… I'm sorry, 'Captain' Gonzap… This isn't your battle to fight… but you are welcome in it if you dare to think you will go against our pact agreement. If I win, everyone here will belong to Cipher once again. Even Team Snagem will be part of Cipher once more if you stay here past the point of Michael's inevitable defeat."

Upon hearing this, Michael felt an increasing surge of anger and determination. The more he looked at Ardos scoffing him and gloating as if he has already won, the more he felt the urge to shout with the words he had just conjured out of spite for the enemy.

"You have all already lost."

"No, you!", Michael spoke out.

"…. What?", Ardos answered.

"YOU!", Michael shouted with furious determination.

"If I wanted to hear you run your mouth, I would have asked for it. But since I didn't…"

Michael stepped off the crate and approached Ardos. Ardos stood stoically unphased by his approach.

"Leave, Ardos. Leave before we get to see you pulverized. You and your new Cipher you just HAD to dig out of its grave. We are a free people. We will never fall to your organization, and we won't let Shadow Pokémon run rampant again…"

Ardos was silent. His eyes were hidden behind his shades. Michael turned to stand back on the crate to face the people he was afraid to face before.

"Friends! Families! Hear me… we are all gathered here because Orre is on its last leg. We are the last protectors of Orre's future. We are all that remains of Orre's memory… But as Orre's champion in the past, I felt I needed to be the sole protector of this land against Cipher. And I made the mistake, thinking I could keep everyone safe at once… alone", Michael admitted out loud to the crowd through his speech.

"But today whether I win or lose, don't ever lose hope! As my friend Seth said, tomorrow will come. And as he also said once when I lost hope in my mission, even when your hope is gone, move along just to make it through…. Today I'm asking that none of you lose hope. Have faith in tomorrow. Be a hero. Protect the people who stand beside you today!"

"I am not the only champion standing here today... On this day… despite everything that divides us… we are all champions! We may all be different, we may all have our tragic stories to tell, but that is what makes us strong! Whether you were a criminal then or a criminal now… no matter your history, we stand united as Orre's Champions…."

Ardos retaliated verbally with anger toward resistance.

"You will all belong to me once Michael loses! We had a deal, and if you resist you will feel the full fury of the perfect storm that is Cipher! You have hope of winning against us!"

"Shut up! You're not the boss of us!", Michael straight up demanded of his foe.

The crowd started to act up. People were shouting in support of Michael's behavior towards Cipher's head. The Snagem Grunts were the first to swarm around Michael with Agate Village, Realgam Tower, and Pyrite Town residents following with support of their hero.

"Yeah! You don't own us!", one person said.

"We're not going down without a fight!", a woman added.

"I didn't live sixty years to be bossed around by some pup!", an old lady sounded with spite towards Ardos.

Suddenly Chobin arose from the crowd with even more hostile shouting.

"Chobin and Robo Groudon are ready to stomp on all of you!", Chobin threatened.

"CHOBIN BOT WILL DESTROY INTRUDERS!", Chobin Bot added to his creator's battle cry with a reverberating metallic voice.

Eagun and Duking stepped forward with their Poke Balls in hand as Gonzap and his first mates threatened Ardos with their presence as well. Over the crowd that opposed Cipher, Michael stood and watched the miracle that was the unity among Orre's last resistance. Jovi looked up to her brother and cheered from the crowd that stood with him against the enemy.

Ardos could see clearly now from where he stood. The people would resist even if Michael were to lose this upcoming battle. Though this infuriated him at first, he found the resolve to laugh it off with the new notion that was presented to him.

"Fine… have it your way… but don't think this means you should abandon our battle, Michael. I suppose the pact didn't say you would all come quietly, so this should be fun to watch afterward.", Ardos said with an evil grin stretching across his wrinkled face.

The red headed teen knew what it meant if he lost. Not only would the people be at their mercy now, but all of Michael's Pokémon would be awarded to Ardos if he isn't careful. The problem of waging war against an opponent like Cipher is that there will always be a risk of major casualties.

Ardos stepped forward toward the crowd and took a good look at the people who opposed him. His eyes were drawn to Michael standing over them, then to his sister looking back with a determination in her eyes. He scanned over to the view swirly glasses of a boy and hear clanking metal sounds of his robot look-a-like. He could see Duking and Eagun on his way to see the former scientist standing his ground with a menacing silent death stare on his face.

"Leave.", Seth spitefully said to him.

"Ahahaha! Very well…. But I'd recommend you evacuate anything important in that boat of yours, Gonzap, sometime after Michael departs on that…. thing.", Ardos warned before turning toward the stairs to make his casual escape with his two bodyguards.

Gonzap furrowed his impressive brows before he turned to look back at the Snagger Zark. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The captain looked back at Ardos walking away from the confrontation rather uncharacteristically.

"I'll be seeing you soon Michael…", said Ardos as he and his guards rose up the stairs to step through floating rings conjured out of the air to safely land in a place out of sight.

With the enemy gone, the crowd returned their attention to Michael still standing on the crate. He took a look around at the eyes looking up to him before he gestured that they clear the way to the small set of stairs to Robo Kyogre's pier. With his path set, he jumped off the crate and walked to and down the stairs. He stood by the Robo Kyogre, now ready for his departure with its light blue windshield lifted open.

The heroic youth turned to see his sister with his friends behind her to see him go. Of the group, Jovi spoke first to him as she gave him the tightest hug she could give and a sisterly peck on his right cheek.

"I believe in you big bro. We all believe in you!", Jovi said to him as she kept her arms around his back and her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you Jovi, I promise I'll be back soon. And then we'll go find Mom and Professor Krane wherever they are.", assured Michael with a smile and his eyes closed in their embrace.

Jovi slowly let go of her brother and stood back to let Gonzap speak with him.

"Alright kid, we have the town secured. And the ship is ready to carry anyone who wants to leave out of this forsaken region once you've freed it from that blue schmuck." , Gonzap proclaimed to him.

"Good… but if I don't come back…", Michael couldn't finish his advice before Gonzap butted in.

"Don't go saying that my boy, you're coming back… but yes, yes I understand you. Don't worry, we'll keep them safe.", Gonzap answered with a nod as his impressive mustache and eyebrows swayed in the wind.

"Thank you so much, Captain Gonzap. I have faith in you too."

The burly pirate captain stepped back. Duking and Eagun approached with what they had to say to the hero on the verge of departure.

"Alright lad we know you can do it! My Marcia is waiting, but after you're done in Citadark Isle nobody needs to wait any longer!", Duking cheered for the future.

"I have my faith in you too, boy. Though I wish this didn't have to be the case, we will protect this land to the very end of its days as we always have.", Eagun said to him.

"Thank you both…. Until I come back, help Gonzap keep everyone safe.", Michael requested of them.

The two agreed with their local hero before they stepped away. Jovi almost approached her brother for one more sisterly hug before Seth approached him first. She stepped back and watched the two consult with one another one last time.

"So… Michael. This is it."

The magician glimpsed at the Robo Kyogre before looking past the rotating bridges to Citadark Isle far in the horizon. The gray clouds in the sky were the darkest above the lonely island volcano.

"A storm is coming, but you're not afraid are you?", he asked him.

"No, a little rain never hurt me.", Michael answered before seeing Seth's expression change.

"Figuratively speaking…. You're going straight into the eye of the storm, Michael. Your journey… no… your whole life that your father left behind for you have lead up to this moment. Once you leave this pier, there's no going back.", he warned him as he patted his left hand over the shoulder plate of Michael's Snag Machine.

Michael drew his eyes towards the former scientist's hand. He drew his sights into his blue reflective eyes. His messy gray hair blew in the wind as he continued speaking to him.

"Are you prepared to go all the way with this Michael? To face whatever lies in Citadark Isle and Ardos when you do?"

Within ten seconds, the red headed teen responded to him.

"Yes… I've always been prepared, Seth… but after this is all over, what will you do? Are you going back to Kanto, Johto or whatever?", Michael questioned him before Seth looked down to ponder the question for a moment.

"After this is all over, I'm going back to Pokétopia. It's been too long since I've been there, though I've heard its seen better days... did you know their Colosseum Master of Colosseum Masters is a magician too?", Seth asked rhetorically.

"Oh? Huh… is he like an inspiration to you?", Michael questioned.

"Yes… Yes I guess you could say that… but unlike him, all of my tricks are real.", the magician answered with his usual statement on the legitimacy of his act.

"Alright, that's enough talk from me, get out there and save the day.", he said with a pat over Michael's forehead before walking away with the rest of Michael's friends excluding Jovi who stuck around to give her brother one more hug.

"See ya soon!", Jovi said rubbing her cheek against his as they embraced once more before letting go to see him step into the floating watercraft.

Like a soldier about to be sent to a war across the sea, Michael was given the ovation he deserved once the windshield above him slowly lowered over his head and sealed him inside the cockpit of the Robo Kyogre. The engines fired up and propelled Robo Kyogre across the port as the rotating bridges granted him access to the ocean.

Orre's last people cheered from the concrete for him as he departed. Jovi stood on the edge of the concrete, hanging on to a lamp post to watch her brother suddenly pick up speed and skip across the waves.

Through the complex rotating bridges, Jovi made it to Gateon Port's lighthouse platform and rose through the elevator to get a better view of the ocean to see her brother under the gray sky. She wore a grin on her face for a moment until she noticed she was followed.

Joining her, she turned to see Umbreon and Espeon sitting silently between her and the elevator exit as she had her back against a safety rail. Her eyes widened in confusion to their presence.

"W-What? You two again?! …. Wait… don't you two belong to…. Wes?"

The two did not respond. The Espeon kept waving its tail daintily as it yawned as Umbreon climbed up the small stair way over to the highest point of the lighthouse being on top of the elevator shaft. Jovi could only stand in silent confusion before she thought of the charm she picked up earlier. She dug through her Key Items Pocket to discover it completely visible to her.

"It's here…. What is… What does this mean?", she asked before she felt the urge to put the moon charm choker necklace around her neck.

"It's… it's very… it's a very nice necklace…"

In a moment, she had the Moon Charm necklace placed around her neck. After she placed it, the Espeon proceeded to walk toward her with Umbreon jumping down from the top of the elevator's shaft and join its Psychic type brother. Jovi walked toward them and stood watching over them as they gazed into each other's eyes in silence.

Suddenly, an explosion was heard coming from the direction of Team Snagem's ship. Jovi quickly jumped in response and ran toward the safety rails toward the Snagger Zark. It has been set ablaze in rising fire and smoke.


	19. 2: The Dark Ascent

**Ascent**

Splashing up and down the waves of the incoming storm, Michael kept his steering wheel still and steady within the Robo Kyogre. The light of the gray sky quickly grew black as he approached the island Greevil's Cipher once claimed as his home base of operations.

On his seat, Michael bobbed up and down despite his seatbelt fastened tightly across his waist. As the waves reached violent levels and the rain beginning to crash down upon the glass of the windshield, Michael began feeling uneasy as he couldn't remember how long it took him to reach Citadark Isle the first time he did four years ago.

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the sky. Robo Kyogre began puncturing through walls of water at this point. Each splash blinded Michael's sight until the water suddenly grew calmer. Through the glass he could see the docks of Citadark Island.

"I'm here! I made it!", Michael cheered before he realized he had to slow down.

With a step on the brake, he forced the vehicle to expel water forward to lower the vehicle's speed. Approaching the pier, Robo Kyogre was slowed down enough for Michael to safely fold the vehicle's fins and stabilize beside the catwalk pier.

Michael pressed the button to lift Robo Kyogre's windshield. As it rose he felt the pelting rain bombarding down on his clothes, soaking him almost instantly. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he jumped on to the pier and regretted to see the rain water begin accumulating in the cockpit.

"I'm not going to look forward to sitting in there again…", Michael lamented the loss of his once dry comfortable seat.

"I guess it doesn't matter now. This rain is relentless!"

To his surprise, looking past the safety rails that were just below his height, he could see nobody was there to greet him with hostility on the black grounds ahead on the face of the volcano. The neighboring pier had no yacht, there were no sailors, nobody.

"Nobody? Maybe they're all inside because of th- "

A loud clapping thunder roared, interrupting Michael's observation and making him jump in his surprise.

In response, Michael quickly walked forward and stepped up a small set of stairs. The two streams of lava that once flowed down this volcano's side were hardened and cold. The slab of black earth that was across the first bridge over the hardened stream of lava housed the entrance to the Citadark Isle's lower primary levels. On the second slab of earth across the hardened stream of igneous rock there was constructed a large cylindrical elevator shaft.

When Michael examined the elevator shaft in the pouring rain however, the elevator wasn't there. He looked up to see portions of the structure have been shattered. He looked around to see the floor had small shards of glass and bits of metal. He looked back at the tall foreboding face of the island volcano regretfully knowing he won't be taking the short cut to the dome where his final battle will take place.

Michael quickly ran into the metal corridor built into the face of the volcano and arrived into the familiar iron clad room that was one of many rooms to come. He could see the still functional healing Machine and PC in their corners. The ambience of the rain outside and the smell of salt and burnt electrical wires polluted the air in this first level of Cipher's old domain.

"Nobody to greet me here either… well I better get going. I can't remember which way is the right way though…", he admitted to himself as he could see an automatic door to his left and his right.

"Let's go this way."

He chose the left door, and proceeded to walk into another small room decorated with pipes connecting between the wall and the metal tiled floor. There was another door ahead in which he proceeded through without hesitation and saw at the end of the hall around the protruding mountain wall with cracks and crevices in the metal, a shadow of a figure behind a closing chrome door.

"Hey!", he called out for the entity before running toward the automatic door ahead of him.

But when he entered the room, there was no sign of life. Stacks of cabinets were in the corner of the room, but there was nothing else. Michael scanned the entire room with his Aura Reader but there were no signs of Specter Peons hiding in the shadows.

"It's a dead end… and nobody's here… the door couldn't have just closed itself."

Metal banging could be heard in a different room nearby. Michael caught on to the sound and ran back through the halls to arrive at the first room. When he had returned to the entrance, the metal banging stopped.

"Hello?! Is there someone here?!", Michael beckoned through the metal empty labyrinth.

Suddenly, Michael's P*DA rang. It startled him momentarily before he quickly opened it up to see the message.

It was from Eagun with Duking and Gonzap present, titled, "Our Ship's Sunk!"

"Cipher just blew up Team Snagem's ship! The people in the ship have gone missing but nobody outside got hurt. Jovi is down here and so is Seth looking over the situation. Gonzap and Duking are busy trying to clear the debris to find any survivors. For our sakes, please win this battle!", said the message.

Michael was awestruck with the sudden severity of the situation. Cipher will not allow them to escape on their ship; Team Snagem must not have been in their plans when they were to slowly assimilate the last of Orre's free people.

"Jovi. I have to write to her and Seth…"

Michael took the time to send a message back to Eagun and then to Jovi and the magician. He told them to keep together and stay safe. After his messages were sent, he closed his P*DA and continued down the other hall through the door he didn't pick first.

He walked down the familiar empty hallway, re-exploring a space that he once walked four years ago. The red headed teen found a red item chest that he had opened previously during his first visit to the island. He then thought about the number of red item chests that he discovered his first time here. With any luck, they have probably remained open and untouched since his final departure.

Suddenly he received emails from both his sister and the magician. Michael took the time to open his P*DA and read what was being messaged to him.

From his sister with the title,"I'm fine!".

"I'm okay, Michael. I'm a little shaken, but we're keeping it together. I'll see you soon after your battle! Stay safe!", concluded the short message from Jovi.

From Seth with the title, "Still here."

"I am keeping watch over the town while you are away, however the attack on the Snagger Zark was unavoidable. They must have snuck Specter Peons on board when you left… I will keep my Cipher Scope handy from now on.", concluded the short message from Seth.

After closing his P*DA, he continued walking around the winding labyrinth. He came upon the elevator room in the center of the floor. He entered the glass cylindrical elevator. In a moment, the elevator descended to the lower levels of the fortress.

Upon arriving at the floor, Michael exited through the opened glass doors and proceeded down the hallways of the wave generator's floor of the stronghold.

To his left he could see clearly through the large pane windows the whirlpool the wave generator was creating. He walked through an empty room's automatic doors to arrive at the entrance of a metal bridge connected to an observation room suspended over the large whirlpool. Michael looked ahead from where he stood from the room's door to notice the control room first.

He entered the control room to see the various complicated consoles and monitors that have been reactivated, but there were no scientists monitoring the machine's functions. There was nothing of interest in the room, so Michael proceeded over the whirlpool via the bridge and its observation deck before arriving on the other side of the floor.

He walked through the halls around the window pane glass that continued allowing the view of the whirlpool before coming upon the automatic metal door into the room with the elevator. He approached the elevator and tapped on the glass… but it wouldn't open.

"It's locked? … maybe there's a button or a key somewhere?", Michael thought to himself.

He looked at his options. To his left was an automatic door to a room and to his right was a small hallway to the other room on the opposite side.

Beginning with his left, he inspected the room to find a set of lockers and a red item chest that has already been opened. Nothing was in it, so he proceeded to the opposite room.

After examining the other empty room that was also a simple locker room with a red item chest, Michael made the assumption that the key to unlocking the elevator was in the whirlpool control room. He proceeded to trace his steps back over the whirlpool and enter the command center once again.

The red headed teen carefully inspected each and every monitor and console until he found a button that was labeled the "Elevator Call Button.". Michael pressed it and heard the elevator doors open far away from there. He was about to turn face until he noticed something displayed on the monitor above the button.

"Do you remember the people who worked here?", read a message displayed on a window with a "Yes" and "No" buttons located just below it.

"Do I remember them? … what about them?", Michael questioned out loud to no one as he found the button to press the "Yes" option.

"They had families.", the text changed immediately after he submitted his answer.

Michael stood, unsure of how he is supposed to respond to this message. He looked around to see nobody was there to watch him answer. But then he noticed a security camera zoomed in toward his direction just above the edges of the walls toward the ceiling. The dumbfounded red headed teen wondered why Ardos would go through the trouble of leaving this question for him to potentially answer.

"Maybe they had families… but just like what happened to my father, it was all a mistake. What's in the past is over and done. If you're trying to make me feel bad Ardos, you're going to have try a lot harder than that.", Michael said out loud to the camera staring directly at him from the ceiling.

Proceeding back to the elevator, using it to rise to the next section of the stronghold, Michael had arrived. He walked out of the cylinder to a heated black chamber in within a portion of the volcano.

He stood upon a small cliff looking over the volcanic chamber that had its streams of lava flow clogged a long time ago by him. The glow of the nearby lava streams that didn't block his way was still present. Using the light sources, he traversed his way through the heated rocky ground into the small metal open hall of the next chamber.

At this point he was feeling rolling sweat drops down the sides of his face. The familiar feeling of his blue headband soaked in the sweat emerging from his head as he walked through the heated mixture of metal plates, bars, and pipes scatted with the volcanic earth that surrounded him. The heat reached its peak when Michael had finally arrived at the waterfall of lava he was forced to walk around. The entire right side of his body burned as he quickly ran around the pool and passed a Healing Machine to enter a small corridor of casted iron and electric wires.

Eventually the corridor expanded. As he walked he came upon a large chrome wall to his left that seemed to be part of a housing compound now that Michael had taken a closer look at it. There were large cooling fans that looked like they were functioning for individual dorms. But ignoring the abodes, he walked forward past another available PC and up another cylindrical elevator into the next volcanic chamber.

This time Michael had to walk through a thin rocky path through pools of lava surrounding him on all sides. He could hear the rain and thunder outside from where he was within the volcano, but the cool moist air outside could not reach the horrible heated air Michael was forced to breathe in.

"Aggh how did I do this four years ago?! This is excruciatingly hot!", Michael expressed his amazement at his own endurance when he was younger.

Crawling through caverns and ignoring the empty red item boxes he left long ago, he came upon a ramp to an elevated platform where the next elevator could be seen. He didn't hesitate to escape the heat in the dimly lit volcanic chambers.

Out of the red depths, Michael stepped forward on to a cliff looking over an exposed rocky pit with a swirled pathway on a lower level. The downpour could be heard nearby. On the bright side, it was far more refreshing out here in the storm than in the volcano.

"I… I better hold my ground when I get on these…", Michael advised himself as he could see Cipher's technology with moving kinetic platforms still in effect.

Green glowing lines decorated these metal rectangular prisms. As impressive as they looked, Michael knew that he better keep his balance on these platforms lest he fall to an untimely end.

Michael stepped over the platform to the lower level of the swirled precarious path and walked on the branching path toward a small open doorway to view the docks outside. When he stepped out into the pouring rain once again, he looked down to see where his Robo Kyogre might be.

"… Oh gosh…. Where did it go?", Michael asked himself as his heart sank to the level of his Robo Pokemon potentially sunk to the bottom of the sea.

No matter where he looked, the Robo Kyogre couldn't be found on any horizon of the raging ocean. Saddened but not discouraged, he continued the path around the corner back into the chamber he had originally came from but in a different section of it towards the next elevator.

Rising up on another kinetic platform, he ventured into the elevator and rose up to a familiar construct. He took a look around the spacious suspended platforms to see their crane hooks have still been left in place.

"Oh this place… ughh.", Michael thought to himself before he embarked on the journey through the crane hook maze.

After tapping on a hook sign the hanging hook over him would lower and he would grab hold of the chain as he would place both of his feet on to the curve of the hook and wait for the crane to carry him to the next suspended metal platform before repeating the process a couple of times. And though it was tiring, he would not have to take the challenge again if he watches his step in the next sector.

Stepping through out of the elevator on the next floor above the hook puzzle were the holographic floors that scattered throughout the platform. But looking ahead, he could see the elevator to the edge of the volcano's crater was right there. He was almost at his destination.

"I'm almost there! I just need to be careful around these holes in the floor…", he warned himself.

He walked slowly across the room around a glass wall that divided him. He paid attention to the traps as he stepped toward the last stretch, until he heard footsteps coming from behind. When he turned around, in a flash of blue he was pushed on top of a holographic floor.

"Wah?! Agh?!", Michael suddenly panicked before he could see the back of Ardos's head walking towards the elevator.

Without time to act, he fell head first. Michael blacked out in that moment as he felt an impact he couldn't describe. The last thing he thought before he fell unconscious was how close he was to his destination. If he had fell feet first, he would have been more than able to return through the hook maze.

But in his unconsciousness he felt arms hold him closely. The feeling almost reminded him of how it felt to be held in his father's arms when Michael would need comforting. But in a moment he could feel those arms leave him as he laid flat on the ground. He slowly opened his eyes to see he was not dead, but very much alive as he was facing the ceiling next to the final elevator to the top of the volcano.

"W-What… Was that?! … Did I dream that up? Or did Ardos really try to kill me there?!", Michael asked himself as he sat back up on the metal tiled floor with his left Snag Machine mounted hand over his heart.

"No.. No it's okay. I'm okay… It's alright… I've finally made it.", he thought to himself.

The red headed hero picked himself back up and entered the elevator. Rising up on to the dark clearing on the volcano, he could see the rain had finally stopped, but the black clouds still linger, covering the sky.

He turned to see the large white sphere that was once Greevil's lair and personal Colosseum. The catwalk to the front gate was empty and clear while the other path through an emergency exit was also clear to traverse through. In any way he can, he was finally at the place where the battle to decide Orre's future will unfold.

Standing on the edge of the crater like he did in a time long passed, he thought to himself of the things he should do before entering to re-enact his destiny he fulfilled long ago. He thought about how Orre fared after Cipher's defeat and regretted that he couldn't take care of the Wild Pokémon presence more than he could with Duking's help, no thanks to Agno who also contributed to Orre being barren once again.

"There is no hope for Orre… but Orre's people will live free from Cipher. No more Shadow Pokémon, no more Cipher… and whatever they have in store for us out there, we'll be ready.", Michael thought to himself before sending out his entire team for one last pep talk.

Before him stood his loyal Umbreon. Behind Umbreon stood Salamence tall and proud as Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres separately perched on top of a cluster of rocks. All the while Lugia stood recognizing the air space he once flew as the violent incarnation he once was before his trainer saved him.

"Everyone! Listen up!", Michael beckoned them with his Pokémon immediately turning their attention to them, a few of the legendary birds flapped down to stand closer to their savior.

"Alright everyone, we're back here again, yeah I know it's a horrible place that brings back bad memories, but this time I'm not just saving you. We are saving everyone in this last battle.", Michael began explaining to his Pokémon.

"We will win this battle. Ardos doesn't stand a chance, he never had a chance. He thinks he can scare us with his threats, but in this pact we have if he loses we will all win and Cipher will finally be destroyed once and for all.", Michael said with the conscious decision of not telling them what happens to them if he loses.

Umbreon nodded as he sat beside his trainer's left foot. Salamence gave a small bellow as the three legendary birds cawed toward the sky. Lugia stood with his fangs exposed and his eyes looking into Michael's green eyes.

"We will keep anything like what they did to you from ever happening again… but if it turns out Ardos has, then we will have some snagging to do.", Michael said shaking his left in front of him with a fist of determination.

"Everyone clear? Then let's go finish this fight!", Michael proclaimed.

All of the Pokémon cheered before they were reunited with their trainer in the safety of their individual Poke Balls. Michael held each of them close to his heart before placing them in his waist bag and began approaching the front gate of the dome through the catwalk suspended high over the heated lava and a large reactivated thermal generator. When he approached the gateway he felt chills coming down his spine and his heart racing, but in his mind he told himself.

"Now… don't be afraid…"

Michael entered the dome and came upon a small room with an ordinary Healing Machine and another PC. Ahead of the room was the large spacious command center where Greevil once sat in his hover chair; overlooking his operators at their several rows of consoles facing the wall. On the wall was a large plasma screen monitor that was displaying an odd film reel.

Michael approached Greevil's old spot to realize his space has been replaced with a strange looking Healing Machine. The Healing Machine was white colored and it looked like it was recently implanted into the metal floor.

"As part of the deal, place your Pokémon in that Healing Machine…", Ardos requested as he walked toward him from the door to the elevator room up to the Dark Colosseum.

"What?! ….", Michael reacted to Ardos's sudden presence.

"Place them. Or our deal is off and Cipher lives to rule again.", Ardos said with a frown through his shades.

Michael was silent for a moment, but then he realized the intention. He sighed and nodded in agreement. He began placing his Poke Balls into the divots of the machine. His P*DA suddenly began reacting to the machine working. Michael opened his P*DA to discover his entire PC has been compromised and all of his Pokémon are now at the mercy of the results of the coming battle.

"Good… good. Michael.", Ardos expressed his satisfaction with an evil smile.

Michael stood silently with a heavy feeling in his heart, but he knew all he had to do was pulverize Ardos's team in the upcoming battle. If he can manage that, then this nightmare would be all over.

"While we're waiting… let's have a look at what's on the tv shall we? Ohh look at the Hexagon Brothers in Unova...", Ardos expressed his interest toward the large monitors on the wall.

Michael silently drew his eyes away from his enemy and toward the command center's screen. Before his eyes he beheld the brothers all appearing to be wearing baseball caps as part of some baseball team in the Unova Region.

The film showed a clip of a blue patterned brother up to bat, but after three swings he was out. The scene jumped to show the brothers walking down an alley as baseball fans gathered to celebrate the other team's victory.

"Well you can't win them all.", Michael said out loud.

"Isn't that Razell and Dazell?", Ardos asked before Michael could notice the film showing the two magicians juggling their color changing pins before a crowd.

In a moment they were performing smoothly, but the silent film showed them getting booed at and thrown Tomato Berries that burned to the touch. Dazell was crying as Razell was lashing out verbally at the offenders before they were dragged off stage.

Michael had no words to describe how he felt. Oddly enough he found the scene comparable to the scenario Seth described he had once in Kanto.

"Do you recognize any of these people, Michael? These were all taken across Kanto, Johto, Hoenn…", asked Ardos as the film suddenly showed a compilation of different individuals and families.

Michael took a hard look at each and every one it showed. People were living on the streets and crawling with their Pokémon at their side. The girl who had lost her Bonsly was living with her mother in a small cramped apartment. Teens and rogues were all seen being persecuted by police. Miror B. was even seen with his posse fending off policemen. A myriad of different Orrean citizens were put behind bars. The competitive ace trainers from Orre weren't allowed to compete in Gym challenges.

"Did you know that our Orre was built over an ancient burial ground? An entire city was swept away by a flood millennia ago", Ardos began explaining history as Michael continued looking at the saddening film.

"It is said that our culture with Colosseums came from this ancient civilization we've called the Ancient Orrean Empire… in Ancient Orre, they discovered the power of Shadow Pokémon first and created Colosseum matches that were suspected to be so epic, they were renowned widely across the world. Until one day it was destroyed in a flood, and the survivors on the same mountain Agate Village was built were the only ones left behind with Celebi's power entrusted to them through the Relic."

Michael looked away from the film, the last thing he saw was Vander sitting with his hands up to his face with his Linoone resting beside him at the steps of an elegant looking Pokémon League far away from Orre. He looked down at the working augmented Healing Machine as he thought about Ardos's words.

"Whether the people caught in the flood deserved it or not… they all died because the world deemed them too impure to live… though theory has it that Ho-oh and Lugia were the ones responsible for Ancient Orre's cataclysmic end. But in the modern era, my father and his very old friend came to look for riches. And when he did, he built Orre from the ground up… and now you see what you did that day?", Ardos ended his history lesson with a question.

"You killed us all when you destroyed my father's dream. Cipher was behind everything in Orre, Cipher was the beginning as it will be the end of Orre's lifespan. Phenac City, Pyrite Town, Mt. Battle, the Realgam Tower, the importing system between regions, everything and everyone was part of my father's dream. And when you won… you know better than any of us what happened.", Ardos further explained placing the blame on him

"E-Even if I had known this would happen to us… to them… Cipher shouldn't exist to make Shadow Pokémon and rule the world. If this region was supposed to be your home base, then I'm not sorry for smashing up your control!", Michael responded with an angry tone toward his enemy.

"We never lost control… if you think you will win your next battle, please be my guest and follow me up the elevator.

Ardos was silent for a moment. He stood still as if he was listening to something.

Michael noticed the earpiece in his left ear. He appeared to be receiving an incoming transmission from a colleague.

"And… take your time before coming up to face your destiny. There are vending machines up ahead with food, drink, medicine and Poke Balls for any emergency. When you rise through the elevator, you won't be coming back.", Ardos warned before turning about face to walk through the opened automatic door into the elevator room that apparently had vending machines at the ready.

Michael turned toward his six Pokémon sitting in the augmented Healing Machine. The Machine has ended its function. The red headed hero retrieved his party and placed them back into his bag. He took one last look around the command center with one glimpse at the screen now having ended its feature presentation.

Walking into the elevator room he was met with three vending machines. Two were easily recognized, but the third one was very odd looking. It appeared to take on the shape of a quadruped robotic machine that had pictures of hotdogs and burgers on its broadside. It was big and bulky and unlike anything Michael has seen.

Beside it was the Poke Ball vender that took the shape of a standard vending machine but it had a plastic tube to watch purchased Poke Balls roll down to the retrieval tray below. And next to it was the Drink and Medicine vending Machine that had Soda Pops, Fresh Waters, Lemonades, Moo Moo Milks, and the whole selection of manufactured medicine kept refrigerated in a convenient vender.

After all this time venturing out and through the island, Michael felt very human need to eat something delicious before facing his destiny once again. Michael approached the food vendor first and transacted five hundred Poke Dollars from his P*DA for a hamburger. The quadruped machine selected the requested item and ejected it out of a slot on its surface.

Michael grabbed it and unwrapped it open. It already had traces of ketchup and mustard under the bun, so he happily began chowing down on the small delicious meal.

"Nothing like eating a fresh burg before saving the world.", Michael said out loud to himself.

He was about to walk away from the strange shaped food vendor before he noticed an ice cream menu.

"Is that… Sea Salt Flavored? … Unbelievable!"

As he licked his favorite flavor of ice cream on a stick, he bought a can of Lemonade to drink himself and a couple Full Restores before buying twenty Ultra Balls.

Having had his fill and now properly suited, Orre's Champion is finally ready for his final confrontation. Michael proceeded to ride the elevator up into the Dark Colosseum above within the dome suspended over the volcano's crater for the battle for a better tomorrow.


	20. 1: Eclipse of the Heart

Rising up into the dark large dim arena where Shadow Lugia was snagged and Cipher was defeated for the second time, Michael stepped forward from the elevated platform. He gradually felt the ominous nostalgic chill in the air as he could vividly remember how it felt to approach Greevil in this Colosseum he called his own.

Despite all these years left alone, the Dark Colosseum's spacious interior remained ever ominous. Serving as a monument to the sins of the father of Ardos and Eldes, the community in Orre elected to leave it preserved as a would-be tourist location akin to how the S.S. Libra's ruins were dealt with. Unfortunately Orre was never well known enough to gain an economy through tourism.

Michael looked forward. Ardos was standing before him , facing his direction in the darkness illuminated by the floor's orange patterns and stripes. He was silently watching him from the distance. With a deep breath, Michael approached him and boldly proclaimed out loud, standing tall as the red headed teen readied his hand over his waist bag.

"I'm ready to beat you again, Ardos."

Without wasting any time, Ardos pulled out two Poke Balls hiding under his two long large sleeves. The blue haired man grinned an evil smile at Michael. He spoke back to him with his grimace.

"I've been waiting for this. For four years I've waited to finally get my revenge. For my father and the dream we lost, you will fall here you stupid kid!"

Michael kept a solid stance. Before he was caught up in the new battle about to begin, time felt like it had stopped. Both Ardos and Michael froze when a voice suddenly boomed in the darkness. The hero's eyes widened as he recognized it.

"Enough, Ardos."

Ardos was silent with hesitation in his actions, but he looked agitated and disturbed as he turned around to face a figure in the dark. Michael watched as Ardos was talking to someone hiding just outside of his perception.

"W-What? B-But Master… Wasn't this part of the plan?", he asked toward the unknown entity.

"You know well enough that the battle is between him and me. Your permission to get your revenge has been revoked. Hoopa, would you kindly escort Ardos back to the cantina on the Gemini?",

Suddenly a ring with a gapping black void appeared behind Ardos. The blue haired old man turned toward the source of the voice and shouted in absolutely furious anger. Michael watched dumbfounded by the scene that was unfolding. The ring increased in its size, large enough for Ardos to walk through.

"You… You dare deprive me of my chance at revenge?! After everything YOU had us go through?! I won't forget this!"

"You've been dismissed, Ardos.", the voice responded with an unsympathetic tone.

Suddenly, Ardos was pulled inside the ring's gap, and with the ring he disappeared into thin air. As he disappeared a deafening silence overcame the stadium. Nobody was present to approach the challenger.

Michael's heart was jumping in fear. He did not expect this to happen. The thought he had running through his mind was who in the world the real mastermind behind Cipher's second return is. The scene that unfolded before him proved Ardos was never the one in control of everything.

"So you're finally here.", the familiar voice echoed.

In a moment, the dome's mechanisms slid open. The light of the sun that made it through the gray clouds revealed a dark figure dressed in black padded armor. He had silver hair and when he turned around, Michael's heart froze.

"Seth?! What… Are you the real leader of Cipher?!", Michael shouted his questions as he stood back in shock from this revelation.

"Michael… I'm sorry it has come to this but… I've been telling you a lot of lies.", Seth said in response as he began pacing around the area where he stood, pausing to speak.

Seth looked in a direction deep in thought for a moment before he turned to Michael, gesturing him to come closer. Michael hesitantly reacted, keeping his ground.

"Oh come closer Michael, I don't bite. Let's take this time to talk."

Michael, still keeping his guard up, slowly inched closer before he stepped face to face with the man on the verge of stealing the world he sought to protect. Seth faced Michael and gave a deep sigh. The red headed teen silently looked back at him in continued disbelief.

"You've been a very big help Michael… from the moment I met you in Gateon Port you've done a very good job rounding up the last of Orre's citizens together."

"Who… are… you?", Michael asked with spite as he felt the sting of betrayal once again.

"You deserve to know… It's time that I've told you who I really am…", Seth suggested the notion of revelation of his true identity as Michael stood watching silently with brows furrowed.

"I am going to remind you in advance… that I am very sorry and that I apologize for everything that had to happen up until this point…"

Seth gazed his eyes in one direction before swaying his head in the other. The charlatan was hesitant to do his next act. He slowly popped the tip off of the sleeves of the fingers of his right hand and with his pointer finger, pressed and removed his blue contact lenses one by one and slipped them into a small case he pulled out of a pocket on the surface of his armor padded leggings.

Michael suddenly had a flashback to how nervous and surprised Seth was to see Gonzap with his contact lens over his left eye in Gateon Port. Then he thought about the pair of eyes that looked at him when he was knocked out passing through the Warp Station in Undermine. The moving shadow that was on the first floor of Cipher's stronghold in Citadark Isle was likely this person using teleportation technology just as he turned to see him in his sights. The man standing before Michael was a stranger who had been the puppeteer pulling the strings behind his entire adventure from the beginning.

"You still don't recognize me? Honestly kid, you've really gotta get a clue… Well here's another clue for you. Would you kindly hand me that desert visor Gonzap gave you?"

Michael's eyes widened and his spine chilled from the sudden implication. He quickly dug into his bag's pockets and handed the visor over to Seth before he placed it neatly over his head. The red headed teen felt his heart race as he suddenly realized who he was. Michael didn't want to believe his eyes.

"Huh… still fits.", he said with a smile before looking back at Michael staring back at him as his brows twitched and his green eyes were kept wide open.

"No…", Michael said shaking his head as he was stepping backward with one hand over his mouth and his eyes wide open twitching in unison.

"No?… I guess this is the part where your mind is blown to pieces huh?"

"No. NO! T-This can't be happening! W-Wes?! How is this possible?! Why?!", the red headed teen panicked with both of his hands placed on the temples of his head.

Michael turned away from Wes. The troubled teen kept his hands over his face as he couldn't handle the outstandingly horrible revelation. He wanted to shout but the most he could do was let loose a small crackle from the back of his throat as he screamed a silent scream.

"Calm down kid! You're not doing either of us any favors if you're going to act like that.", Wes demanded as he stood reverting his briefly happy expression to a stoic serious one.

Michael turned back to the fallen hero. The red headed teen looked at him and spoke into his orange eyes as Michael regained his posture. Michael spoke as his expression

"Why? What happened to you? Ardos told me you had died… but."

"Like how I told you I was a magician? All that malarkey about me being a former scientist that wanted to use Cipher's unused technology for his own 'magic show'? Haha…. Well I can't blame you for believing. I really did out do myself with my acting if I do say so myself…. Maybe I should have considered a career at Pokestar Studios… if they'd let me.", The silver haired former champion rambled as Michael silently listened in his continued disbelief.

"In a twisted sort of way… I did sorta put on my own show, I will admit it…. Looking back I can honestly say I'm not the same person I was before I met you and Jovi in Gateon Port.", Wes admitted to him.

"Why are you leading Cipher?! Wes?! Why?!", Michael barked at him, out of his continued disbelief and fear, trying not to tremble again.

Wes shook his head and gave a small sincere apologetic smile.

"It's… a long story… and after everything I've put you though, I guess as a friend I owe you some explanation…"

Michael, with thoughts running through his head a dozen times a second, stood looking at the person once called a traitor by his peers. Wes sighed and began speaking as the disturbed teen listened.

"Back when I was out there… about four years ago… I heard about you and what you did. And after that I really wanted to come back to Orre to get to meet you… maybe even be friends after a match…", Wes said as he pursed his lips looking at the dark floor.

"I had hoped of one day I would meet the kid who finished the fight I started so many years ago, but…"

Michael silently listened as he could see Wes's expression change as he spoke. His expression showed lament for something in his past.

"Well… Certain circumstances arose… and when I tried to come back to Orre from Kanto, I realized after years and years of roaming across the world trying to find this place, Orre is not recognized as an official region… Not even Silph Co.'s world map and satellite view would let me see my home again. No national authority besides the International Police… I suppose… would know anything about this region they officially deemed the 'Distant Land' or the 'Faraway Place' where nothing but outcasts and criminals exist. "

Wes sighed as he looked out into the gray sky above Citadark Isle. Michael, having calmed down, looked at the left side of his visible face as he spoke.

"And then one day someone opened my eyes… I was standing at the top of Realgam Tower's spires looking over a flood… I gazed at the people I fought, the people I saved, the Pokémon I had protected from becoming Shadow Pokémon… and I saw that they were all being washed away by an unstoppable flood. Orre was wiped completely clean from existence…", the former champion explained lowering his head toward the floor once again as he tried to vividly remember the scene.

"That was only a dream. But I could see it around me everywhere I traveled across the lands that held their Pokémon Leagues so dear to them…. Our people would never be accepted into any community. They would all die off one by one alone with no sympathy from their neighbors…. Alone and unprotected."

"So that is why you brought back Cipher?! What about your promise?! I know you made a promise to Rui! How do you think she would like it, seeing you here trying to bring back something so evil! ", Michael lashed out verbally against him.

Wes didn't answer. Instead he looked back at Michael with the death stare that he had given multiple times to Michael's encounters throughout this bizarre adventure. The red headed teen's heart stopped when he could see the furious aura around Wes at Rui's mention.

"Don't interrupt me kid…. What you did here was the beginning of the end of Orre, make no mistake. You are as much at fault as I am.", Wes answered.

"The Realgam Tower was Cipher's last construction project in Orre. They would have raised enough money to make more Shadow Pokémon that would be used for world domination. Aside from the intention, it would also have been enough to make a name for Orre. It would have attracted people far and wide to see intense Shadow Pokémon Battles and spread wealth into our economy… until I came and kicked Evice's teeth in along with his plans. Not only was Cipher's control destroyed, but so was the economy hanging on with what Greevil could contribute and keep alive through his powers outside of Orre.

Wes stopped talking for a moment before looking away from Michael. Michael could see his expression. The leader of the reformed syndicate appears to be in doubt of something. The silver haired young man shook his head. He remembered his mission, he turned back to Michael with a recollected serious and stoic expression.

"Four years ago you were the final nail on the coffin, but there was nothing you could do to keep the Wild Pokémon from leaving Orre again; let alone keep Pokémon shipments and supplies alive and constant. Without Cipher, there was no governing power in Orre besides maybe the mayors feeding off of the national treasury left behind by Evice under the Realgam Tower, but no one held the power to establish trade routes as Greevil did… questionable and shady as they were….", Wes explained as he walked two steps in a direction away from Michael.

"Starting from Kanto to Hoenn, I had made my way to Sinnoh, and from there I found a passage to Pokétopia when they were just about to lose their prime as a utopia for trainers who loved to battle in their Colosseums similar own. I took every Colosseum challenge and met with Mysterial to help me become less reliant on my Pokémon to fight every battle. My suit.", explained Wes pointing to his chest to make clear of the source of his "magic" powers.

"Mysterial actually has connections to Greevil and Evice, wouldn't you know?," continued explaining the silver haired young man with the added fun fact.

"And from there to complete my goal, I realized I needed more than me and my own Pokémon to complete my quest. I hunted down Ardos first and challenged him over control of his remaining Cipher loyalists... then I hunted Dakim… Venus… Ein… and that was when Ein and Venus introduced me to Hoopa, who would then help me bust out Nascour and Evice from their prison cells... before helping me plant Cipher's operations in Undermine eight months ago."

Wes turned around and faced the sky as Michael watched him beckon to a Pokémon. The leader of Cipher raised a hand to cup around his mouth as he called out to it.

"Hoopa! Come out!"

Three rings formed in the air around Wes as a giant creature emerged out of a fourth ring hovering in the sky. Michael beheld the large strange Pokémon that held incorporeal arms and severed hands with a fierce menacing face. It had a clear hole through its torso and a long tail.

"Hoopa is the source of Cipher's mass transportation methods as of right now… along with our own teleportation technology, Hoopa has acted as my many arms for my will as holder of the Prison Bottle. He can help save people who are endangered, dig foundations for construction, harvest materials… you know, et cetera…. But sometimes I'd just assign it to more menial tasks on his own to be directed by my admins in their divisions, though recently I gave control of it to Venus, and she let her minions drive off with a new truck only to be abandoned in the middle of the desert…"

"The same truck I found… that day?", Michael asked before Wes answered.

"That was a truck holding a beacon for Wild Pokémon to gather around and colonize… In this case when you approached it, Hoopa panicked and knocked you out as well as sent it flying in a random direction. Little did Venus know it would hit your HQ Lab and crash into the forest behind your home. She had to send the Remo Trainer prototype to retrieve it…."

Michael suddenly had a flashback. He remembers a colony of Wild Pokémon named Skorupi inhabited the crash site where Lily and Jovi investigated. The trainer then realized that along with the Remo Trainer robot, the Remo Units found in Pyrite Cave were holding together massive amounts of small Wild Pokémon together through their mind controlling frequencies. They could have been holding the Pokémon there to be eventually released into a suitable habitat. The thought intrigued Michael as he pondered what Wes's motives were.

"As to why the truck was abandoned, I believe it had to do with the drivers forgetting to refuel the truck before leaving Undermine through one of Hoopa's portals… so they were recalled and the beacon was to be retrieved by Hoopa until you came along at the right time in the wrong place… do you remember falling down one of those holographic floor traps not too long ago?"

"Huh?", Michael's interest peaked as he can remember vividly being pushed to fall head first into the hook maze.

Wes continued to explain as he stood crossing his arms.

"Ardos wanted to watch you step into a holographic floor trap first hand. But little did I know that if you didn't fall, he would run up to you and push you himself out of pure hatred. I had Hoopa save you and I carried you back to where you left off while you were blacked out… I'm honestly sorry that happened to you kid. But that sealed Ardos's chances of battling you before we had our battle… he still needs to be trained if he wants to be a high ranking agent.", Wes explained as his strange Pokémon hovered overhead.

"A-And… what happened in Undermine?", questioned Michael as he slowly breathed in the small fear of the imminent battle.

"We had hoped you would have taken the path to Ein's testing chambers. But uh… when you entered Undermine we were forced to adapt while at the same time Evice lost his ID card for some reason… so when you entered my garden, I had to do what I did and throw you back into the desert outside of Pyrite Town with your bike while taking back Evice's ID card…", Wes answered with his arms crossed in front of his chest as he observed Michael's reaction to his revelations.

Looking back at the garden in his memory, Michael realized the myriad of the plants were blue roses. Like the one he saw Wes give Jovi in their first encounter in Gateon Port. Michael mumbled out loud…

"So all of this time… you were playing me like… like…"

"Like a fiddle? Heh… I guess so… but don't be too mad about it kid. I honestly had fun being your friend… I admit I felt like my act as the mysterious silent magician sorta faded over time…", Wes admitted to Michael with a sincere smile.

"When I saw you crying in the Cipher Key Lair, I had to break character just for a moment. I'm not afraid to admit that I had my sympathies for you kid… but after that happened; my admins could see I had grown too soft for you. And I realized that I should try to keep a farther distance from you... So that this battle we will have won't be as painful on either of us."

Michael was no longer panicking, but he could see that despite his ill intentions and position as Cipher's leader, Wes still has his heart. Demented as he may seem, Michael could still see some good in him.

"You should know that I blew up the Snagger Zark.", Wes informed him as he looked up at his large hovering mythical Pokémon.

"You did that?! You let people on that ship get blown to pieces?!", Michael made the obvious assumption in his shock, suddenly throwing out all of those thoughts of Wes being good.

"No, they were all escorted safely off the ship with Hoopa's help before I started the fire… In fact every person you've seen disappear since I met you were safely placed in my care.", Wes answered before motioning Hoopa to place a ring between himself and his guest.

"Show him Professor Lily's quarters in my island city, Hoopa."

In a moment, the ring facing Michael showed an abode within a street in an unknown city far away. The view came close to a window and through the glass Michael could see his mother sitting at a table in a living room with her face in her hands. She appeared to be brooding over recent events.

"It's only been so long, but she and Professor Krane have been reconstituted into Cipher as part of our science branch, dedicated to Shadow Pokémon advancements; improving immunity to purification on a level surpassing even the XD-Series. Lovrina and her mentor, Ein, are working hard to spin strains of Shadow Pokémon unlike anything the world has ever seen…"

"Shadow Pokémon…. So you really are planning to bring them back? Why?!", asked Michael again incapable of understanding Wes's true motives.

"To protect Orre and its people and to divide us from the rest of the hostile world.", Wes answered with a stoic expression on his face.

"I will admit throughout everything, even with Professor Burnett's insight, there were some things I never thought would be the case… like Team Snagem coming here, seeing the old man again was so alien to me… but more importantly, what happened in Agate Forest.", Wes continued explaining, suddenly catching Michael's attention for this subject.

"While Venus and the Remo Trainer was busy fighting you and Eagun, I was standing before the Relic, playing a Time Flute I had saved all this time… but after minutes of silence, Celebi never came… and the flute broke into shards in my hands.", the leader of Cipher explained as he casually scratched the surface of his forehead under his visor.

"I don't know where Celebi could have gone… but with all of these weird instances, like the sightings the professor explained and the items and purple chests placed in the strangest places that my Cipher didn't place a head of time for you to discover… I feel as though there definitely is a third party that isn't Team Snagem in play of this game I thought I had carefully set up…"

Michael's mind flashed back to the moon charm choker necklace his sister discovered. The details of the strange happenings and Celebi apparently within Jovi's possession according to Fateen; there must be something so much more to Celebi and the choker necklace. Michael noticed that Wes was glaring at him with untrusting eyes.

"You look like you know what I'm talking about… Do you happen to have any idea who would pose a threat to me and my Neo Cipher? Besides you?", questioned Wes with a serious expression.

Michael could see the three rings floating behind Wes disappeared. Hoopa lowered itself looming above his trainer through the opening in the dome. Wes turned to Hoopa as he continued to speak.

"Either way… it's a problem… a problem I intend to solve in the fullness of time. But for now, let's talk about us."

Wes turned back to Michael. He looked up at the ceiling before looking straight at the young champion before speaking once again to his adversary.

"Let me give you a proposition, kid. Instead of fighting me and risking the fate of all of your Pokémon, you can join me."

"What?!", exclaimed Michael as his eyes widened in shock to the notion.

"Well it's just a suggestion... We could forget this battle and you would keep your Pokémon… and we won't have to see each other as enemies, but as friends dreaming toward the same goal. To keep everyone we care about safe and sound."

Michael silently judged as Wes continued to speak as he could see the deal was not favorable enough for the red headed teen.

"You don't even have to worry about the people in Gateon Port, they'll all be taken to the paradise I've prepared in our new utopia. Your friends, your sister, Eagun and Beluh… Duking and the ONBS kids. Everyone."

The red headed teen already knew the answer to his proposition, he spoke…

"Sorry but… no. Shadow Pokémon is a crime against nature, and I won't let you torture the memory of Orre this way. I don't care what good you think you're doing by keeping us all under your watch. You won't get away with this."

Wes silently looked at Michael with a regretful expression on his face. The former champion's eyes were furrowed before he closed his orange eyes and smiled. Confused, Michael watched him giving his oddly sincere aura. The silver haired face of Neo Cipher continued to speak with his grin.

"So that's it then… You won't ever consider just giving up? Even if there is absolutely nothing to gain?… I'm offering you a place among my admins… higher than my admins. You could be to me what Nascour was to Evice. We could keep everyone safe together and shape our new world together…."

Michael shook his head. Wes gave a chuckle upon seeing his response with a sigh.

"Heh… We're really not that different, kid. Your father would be proud to see you stick to your cause despite everything going my way… Feels like just yesterday I was sent to protect a family on the run from Ein's company…"

Michael didn't understand what he meant at first, but then he understood to his surprise at what Wes implied. They have met before long ago, but the red headed teen could not remember where or when. Ignoring the curious notion, he resumed listening to Cipher's leader continue his speech.

"I never thought you of all people would be the one to finish off Cipher for good, let alone be my rival here and now… In a perfect world we would be friends... but I guess this isn't that perfect world… not yet at least, but that doesn't matter."

Wes turned to Michael and slid his visor over his face. Surrounding him was a clear aura that radiated with energy. Despite this, the Aura Reader was not responding.

"Now's the time to decide Orre's future. For the better tomorrow we've always wanted, this time we won't just disappear… ready or not, here we go Michael!"

Suddenly Michael felt the familiar adrenaline rush of a battle about to begin. He jumped back to see Wes with two float kinetic Poke Balls ready to open the battle. He propelled them forward through the air and unleashed the beasts that formed their master's will to a physical context.

Eclipsed "Seth" Wes would like to battle!

Opening his capsules first, Wes called forth Suicune and Raikou on to the floor of the Dark Colosseum.

Michael wouldn't take the time to look at the opposing legendary Pokémon as he quickly drew his response and sent out Zapdos and Lugia to oppose them, occupying their side of the arena with their large spanning wings.

"I can read your mind… personally I would have saved Lugia for last.", Wes taunted him with a grin.

Michael wouldn't let him taunt him with his mind games. The red headed teen plotted his moves and gave his instructions as Wes gave his to his own Pokémon.

"Lugia! Earthquake! Zapdos, use Thunder against Suicune!", Michael shouted.

"Not so fast! Raikou, Reflect!", Wes commanded as he swung his arm forward to direct his loyal Pokémon.

Thunder struck Suicune, but not before Raikou set up a Reflect barrier to counter Lugia's Earthquake. Suicune endured the gang attack, barely.

Raikou was hit hard from the Super Effective attack, but it survived with the Reflect having absorbed enough damage. Suddenly something glowed and exploded into balls of light around Raikou before disappearing in an instant. The red headed protagonist was surprised by this sudden interaction.

"You have activated my Weakness Policy, An item that sharply raises the Pokémon's Attack and Special Attack stats when the holder is hit by a super effective attack.", Wes explained to Michael as they watched Zapdos suddenly get hit by a beam of harmful ice. Zapdos tried to fly out of the way but his wings were frozen solid.

Already Michael was put in a very desperate situation. He could see Raikou is readying his own Thunder attack to strike Lugia down. Lugia himself is very sturdy against any type of attack, but whether it will survive Raikou's next empowered attack is uncertain.

"Return, Zapdos!, Articuno, ready yourself! Lugia, Psycho Boost Raikou!"

As was predicted, Wes ordered Suicune to finish off Zapdos with another Ice Beam, but Articuno took the hit instead.

Lugia flapped upward and unleashed its full power in its unusual move it learned upon its purification. The sphere of intense psychic energy was projected toward Riakou just as Raikou let loose an extremely dangerous Thunder attack.

Raikou was hit by the immense power, but the dangerous lightning strike missed Lugia as the move Thunder, usually would without rain on the battle field. Michael counted his blessings for the highly inaccurate attack.

"Hmph… Never lucky…", Wes expressed his minor disappointment as he could see his Raikou fallen unconscious before him.

Raikou was returned to its Ultra Ball. Wes replaced him with his Tyranitar, standing tall and ferocious. A sandstorm was summoned with Tyranitar's presence.

Suicune and Tyranitar stood opposing Michael as he quickly made the decision to return Lugia after the drawback of the high power attack leaving Lugia's Special Attack status lowered beyond repair. As it happens, Psycho Boost is generally used as a last resort. The full power attack is best used with a White Herb equipped to your Pokémon, which Michael didn't have at hand.

Replacing Lugia, Michael sent out Salamence to oppose Wes's team.

Articuno used Ice Beam toward Tyranitar at Michael's command, but despite the Super Effective hit, Tyranitar still stood having taken the damage.

Tyranitar retaliated with a Rock Slide, dealing cataclysmic damage to Articuno and super effective damage toward Salamence. They both fainted as Michael felt his heart scrunch up from the massive loss.

"Surely you didn't make your entire team consist of nothing but Flying Types did you? Your Legendary Birds and Lugia and now that Salamence, I'd suggest more diversity next time kid.", Wes advised.

"It ain't over till it's over, Wes! I still have four Pokémon left!", Orre's young champion answered back to his enemy.

"But one of them is frozen solid, what are you gonna do?", questioned Wes with genuine curiosity.

"I'm gonna do the best I can!", Michael said as he dug out a Full Restore from his medicine pocket.

Michael sent forth Lugia and Umbreon. Lugia has since recovered from the stat decrease from the Psycho Boost attack upon switching out.

"Lugia, use Earthquake again! Umbreon, hold on while I do this…"

Wes immediately barked his orders as he could see Michael sending out his frozen Zapdos barely holding on to its consciousness. He watched as Michael sprayed the Full Restore, immediately healing Zapdos and curing it of its frozen ailment before returning it to its ball.

"You do that too?! Gahaha!", Wes laughed as he remembered cheating people out of their potential wins in the same way in his adventure.

The already weakened Tyranitar and Suicune sustained damage from Lugia's Earthquake and fainted at the same time. Umbreon took a hit from his legendary ally, but he still stood relatively healthy from the impact of the ground. Wes silently returned his two Pokémon before sending out Metagross and Entei. The sandstorm left behind by Tyranitar has disappeared upon its return to its capsule.

"Hm… I suppose I should have invested in flying types…", Wes said out loud seeing the unfortunate circumstances.

"Even still, you can't expect Lugia to beat both of my Pokémon with Earthquake. But let's see what happens… Entei! Fire Fang! Metagross, Magnet Rise!"

"Magnet Rise? Fire Fang? Ergh- Umbreon use Moonlight! Lugia, Earthquake!"

Metagross's Quick Claw took effect, and in a moment Metagross was hovering off the ground to gain immunity to Ground Type attacks. Entei rushed forward and caught Umbreon by surprise before biting down with flaming sharp fangs.

With a flap and a shout, Lugia tore up the dark floor of the Colosseum again , dealing damage to every other Pokémon except for Metagross. Umbreon fell over unconscious as Entei barely stood to oppose Michael's Pokémon.

Regretfully, the red headed protagonist had to return his Pokémon knocked out by his own command before he decided to send out Moltres to take his place. After the quick switch he realized Metagross was not even hit by the Earthquake.

"Magnet Rise made Earthquake useless? And that Fire Fang attack was brutal… I better not slip up here.", Michael said to himself before giving out the next set of commands.

Wes gave his orders and their turns were had.

Entei rushed forward to deliver a Crunch attack on Lugia, taking damage for the first time in this battle. Despite being a super effective hit, Lugia still stood with his wings spread wide from side to side.

Moltres used Heat Wave, the attack had a minor impact on Entei but a super effective impact on Metagross for being part Steel type.

Lugia immediately shot a heavy volume of water with Hydro Pump toward Entei and doused its will to fight as it lay fainted on the dark metal ground.

Wes silently returned Entei and left his Metagross alone to fight. Michael was surprised he didn't have a sixth Pokémon to replace it. But then he realized Hoopa was still looming in the air watching the battle unfold with its rings still floating behind Wes.

The trainers issued their commands once more. Metagross's Quick Claw took effect again, a Thunder Punch was delivered and landed on Michael's Moltres. The flaming bird took the hit before returning the favor with a merciless Flamethrower attack as it flapped forward in furious rage.

Lugia finished off Metagross with another concentrated Hydro Pump attack. Metagross was pushed against with no resistance wall like a lifeless doll from the stream of water and remained motionless as the stream of water stopped, splashing all over the battle-scarred ground. Wes returned his Metagross to its Ultra Ball.

"So… you're pretty good. You deserve every bit of respect in the world, kid.", Wes said to him.

The red headed trainer looked up to see Wes's Hoopa begin to ascend into the sky through the dome's opening. He then looked back down toward his foe to see his eyes were still hidden behind his visor. The silver haired incarnation of Cipher's leader began to speak…

"To be the very best is a joke, to make use of the power you've been given by your Pokémon no matter how you got it for the good of everyone is the true meaning of being a Pokémon trainer. All of those ugly people in their League Regions think what matters are meaningless tasks like helping professors filling encyclopedias by catching everything in sight and Gym badge collecting, and for what? I've kept all of my Pokémon I've rescued within my own sanctuary once I earned the means to make one, while they keep theirs locked in their own personal limbos. I don't need any piece of metal to show how strong I've become.", Wes said to Michael, keeping an expressionless stance.

"Do you have any idea how it feels to be trapped in your own time? To have the worlds out there gloss over everything you've done and treat your people as monsters? The injustice? You know it too, don't you?"

Without hesitation, the red headed hero spoke against him…

"What's in the past is done, Wes. They've all done wrong, and I nearly lost custody of all of my Pokémon, but I am finding it in my heart to forgive them because they don't know what they were doing. Just as how my father didn't know what he was doing by joining Cipher years ago.", said Michael.

"If we can find goodness in the people who were once part of something so evil like Cipher, if we can find the means to improve our lives for the greater good; then why can't we find it in our hearts to forgive them? Cipher may have created Orre, but that does not define us. It's true, most of us may have been monsters in our time… but that is what makes us strong today. We all want that better tomorrow, to live and work for that better tomorrow we just have to believe in."

The patience of the foe grew thinner by the minute at this conversation. Wes answered back in a hesitant tone with his thoughts betraying him.

"T-That's… impressive, kid. You would rather have us face them? Out there? When we could raise Orre to a new glory that it's never had… when we could be in total control of our fate through the power of Shadow Pokémon?"

Michael silently sighed and scolded back.

"Tell me Wes, how do you think Rui would like it to see you this way? Who really died that day? And who came back?", asked Michael as he gave Wes a judging glare that struck him through his visor.

Hearing these words broke Wes into a furious emotional response to Michael's surprise as his eyes widened at the expression visible even behind his old visor. He roared with his voice raised in anger.

"YOU DON'T KNOW! Y-You don't know how this feels! I've lost s-so much! I'm not about to break my promise! I will protect everyone, I will keep us safe!... Ho-oh! Show us your purifying light!", Wes beckoned as he held a fist up toward the sky.

Suddenly splitting the heavens above, rays of golden light came cascading down from the sky. Michael, his Lugia, and Moltres watched as they beheld the descent of a massive augmented Rainbow Pokémon constantly shedding its feathers that faded into shadowy nothingness under its own light. A blend of purple and white golden light revealed the large avian shadow to be a Ho-oh, descending slowly into the colosseum's space as Michael's Aura Reader suddenly began reacting to its presence.

Gracefully, Ho-oh settled with its many large feathers constantly falling off and growing back from where they fell. Hoopa's rings disappeared as the augmented Rainbow Pokémon radiating an intense shadowy aura stood with Wes under its right wing. Ho-oh's once bright red feathers have faded to a light violet tint as his tail feathers lost its yellow glow to be replaced with a shade of grey. The eyes of the legendary Pokemon were as red and fierce as the eyes Shadow Lugia once had but with no visible pupils.

"For the memory of Orre, we will prevail…. Now we settle this.", Wes announced as he stood tall having regained his composer.

"Wes, you don't have to do this! Please come to your senses! Think of the people who believed in you! I believed in you!", Michael begged, hoping to tap into the hero from nine years ago as the Aura Reader's visor slid back into its slot.

But Wes didn't listen. Nothing Michael could say or do will change his mind. Eclipsed Wes forwarded his gauntlet-mounted left hand toward Michael and his Pokémon. He gave the word…

"Take us to the platforms, Hoopa. We're taking this to the skies.", commanded Wes.

At his command, a single ring was suddenly conjured in the air behind Michael's back. Without time to react, he felt his entire torso suddenly grabbed by one of Hoopa's giant severed hands before he was suddenly pulled into the portal at a quick gasp of breath.


	21. 0: The New Machine

Feeling the wind blowing through his hair, Michael opened his eyes to find himself lying upward towards the sky with the sound of a large engine running beneath the cold ground. He sat up and realized he was sitting on one of Mt. Battle's ninety-nine floating platforms. The one he was sitting on had the number seventeen painted on its large metal plated surface.

Michael quickly looked around to see this platform was connected to a myriad of other platforms floating in the air. It looked as if they were rebuilt and fused together through various means to create a strange labyrinth of sorts. He picked himself up and walked over to the edge of the platform he stood to look down and realize they are flying high over Orre's desert.

Suddenly he heard the cry of his Lugia and Moltres, the red headed teen turned around to see two of Hoopa's rings floating in the air for his two Pokémon to reunite with him. He ran toward them as they landed on the metal platform.

"Lugia, Moltres!", Michael said to his Pokémon as he turned to see Hoopa emerge from one of his own rings to observe from above.

"This is it Michael!", Wes's voice called to him from a point in the sky.

The red headed trainer and his Pokémon turned to see their foe in a shining violet light descending toward the level of the platforms. Shadow Ho-oh's corrupted light in conjunction with the sun's light made it hard to see Wes on his Pokémon's back.

Ho-oh landed on the platform, shedding countless black wings that fade into nothingness with every flap. Wes jumped off of the and stood beside his Pokémon. Lugia and Moltres stood ready to fight the corrupted legendary Pokémon standing on the opposite side of the small arena.

"You're so close to victory Michael, but I won't let you win this one! Shadow Ho-oh and Hoopa are my last two Pokémon, technically speaking I own seven Pokémon in my roster, but defeating my Ho-oh will be enough for me admit your will for Orre's future is stronger than mine...", proclaimed Wes to the red headed trainer.

Michael refused to emote. He was already preparing another Snag Ball in the form of an Ultra Ball in his left hand. The machine targeted Shadow Ho-oh before Michael swung his arm and threw the capsule. Wes immediately rushed in front of Ho-oh and caught the Snag Ball in his left gauntlet, much to his opponent's surprise.

The Ultra Ball continued to glow orange in Wes's hand, denied of having its reaching snagging hand-like ray released from its confines. The ball's glow faded and Wes sent the Ultra Ball via teleportation to his mobile item storage.

"You didn't think I'd just stand here and let you take him… Did you?", Wes asked before he kept his arms crossed silently watching Michael's reaction.

Michael's eyes widened as he felt himself pumped with adrenaline upon embarking into another battle that began with Shadow Ho-oh rising up toward the sun.

"The past will live again. We will rise from the still warm ashes and build a new world on top of this one!"

Ho-oh suddenly spread his wings and shrieked as it shined an ominous purple light eclipsing the sun's rays. The dark rays that fell from Ho-oh onto the surfaces of the multiple floating platforms gave rise to shadowy forms taking the shape of Wes's recently beaten Pokémon. In the distance, Michael could see a cluster of dark aura in the shape of Suicune jumping across the sky platform to platform with the rest of its allies making their way toward Michael's platform.

Suddenly Lugia screeched and fired an Areoblast toward an approaching form of Entei that reached the platform with a pounce. The beam of violent powerful wind tore into the very being of the hostile cluster of Shadowy Aura and split the form of Entei into scattered shadowy energies across the metal ground. The purple light that remained after the defensive Areoblast disappeared rapidly.

Michael turned to see Suicune and Raikou's shadows stepping on to the platform. Not taking a moment to understand the strange power Shadow Ho-oh possess, he ordered his Moltres to respond appropriately.

"Heat Wave! Lugia, Earthquake!", Michael shouted.

Immediately Moltres flapped a warm front toward the incoming incarnations of Suicune and Raikou as Lugia forced the metal surface of the platform to erupt in explosions under the enemy's feet. Raikou's shadow dispersed into nothingness as Suicune's shadow evaded the attacks and summoned a purple tidal wave across the arena.

Moltres was hit, as was Lugia, by the super effective Shadow attack while Michael was swept off his feet and quickly splashing toward the edge of the platform. Panicking, he tried holding on to the edge with his left hand, but the sting of the Shadow Move rendered his fingers numb. The moment his hand failed, he fell and landed back on to the metal battlefield.

"Woah?! What?!", he reacted before seeing the ring hovering above him before it quickly flew away.

It was clear that Wes would not let Michael leave the battle in any way. Michael picked himself up and stood beside his Lugia who held a wing behind its trainer so as to keep him from getting swept away again. Suicune's shadow was busy shooting Hydro Pump attacks toward Moltres before he was met with the red headed hero's Salamence with an immediate Dragon Claw attack.

The Suicune's shadow dissipated into nothingness. Yet despite the defeat, Michael could see three more dark formations forming another triad to attack. Michael shifted the focus of his eyes on Wes facing Michael's way. The silver haired foe was standing under the light of his Pokémon in the sky.

"Ho-oh isn't attacking, it must be controlling those shadows! We need to take it down somehow, but I still need to snag it!" thought Michael as he began sending out all of his Pokémon, treating them of any wounds they might have held previously as they stood on the metal platform.

Wes watched and allowed Michael to heal his Pokémon for this next phase of their battle. Michael quickly shouted his strategy at his group of Pokémon consisting mostly of Flying types. His legendary birds, his Salamence, and his Umbreon heard their trainer clearly.

"Salamence, fly forward and beat Entei's Shadow into the ground with Umbreon's help! Zapdos and Moltres will take care of Suicune and Raikou's Shadow while Lugia and Articuno will fly toward Ho-oh and blast him with everything they've got!"

The team split to meet with their targets in combat. Michael stood back and watched Lugia and Articuno fly upward as Entei's Shadow began spewing purple flames toward Salamence and Umbreon. Raikou's Shadow and Suicune's Shadow began attacking Moltres and Zapdos as was planned.

"Psycho Boost! Ice Beam!", Michael shouted toward his Articuno and Lugia.

In a moment, the two legendary Pokémon performed their attacks toward the corrupted Rainbow Pokémon. Wes watched as his Pokémon endured the combined attacks and began falling from its graceful position in the sky eclipsing the sun. At the same time, the shadows of the three legendary Pokémon under Shadow Ho-oh's control were dispersed.

"That power belonged to Shadow Ho-oh alone. The move is called Shadow Incarnate. It brings back recently defeated Pokémon in the form of shadowy images, akin to how a Ho-oh once reincarnated three Pokémon to life who were lost in a burning tower according to Johto's legends.", Wes began explaining as he stepped toward Michael.

Michael stepped back in hesitation as his attention was drawn away from his Pokémon. Wes slowly approached him as the Aura Reader responded to his presence. Wes continued to speak…

"Ho-oh's power cannot be matched. Not even Shadow Lugia had the power Shadow Ho-oh holds now. And with this power, we will live to grow strong as one unified Orre… behold the bond we share. The ability Shadowed Heart will bolster my forces and take us to the new world.", he proclaimed as Shadow Ho-oh spread his wings to flap towards Wes. Michael raised his arms bracing for Shadow Ho-oh's close flight.

The Shadow Ho-oh flew toward Wes just before he jumped upward and landed on to Ho-oh's back in perfect synchronization. A trail of fading black feathers were left behind in the air as Michael lowered his arms to see his scattered flying types suddenly chased around by a giant violet ball of flames. Umbreon hurried back to his trainer's side as Michael tried to make sense of the situation that has scattered across the sky.

Zapdos was the first to fall from the brutal attack. Moltres desperately tried to dodge but Wes on his Ho-oh steered their attack every way like a homing missile. Articuno, Salamence, and Lugia flew forward to try to help, but their attacks landed on Moltres rather than the enemy. Michael rushed forward and returned both Zapdos and Moltres to their capsules.

"Are you beginning to feel a little lightweight Michael? I think you should consider learning to fly very soon…", Wes's voice echoed through the ball of intense shadowy aura furiously jetting towards Salamence.

Michael didn't know what his foe meant, but the red headed teened returned Salamence before he could be struck. And as soon as the attack missed, Salamence was sent back out again. Before the red headed teen could pay attention to Wes's moves, he felt himself getting lighter. The same sensation he would feel in an elevator going down.

Suddenly he realized the propellers for the platforms have stopped working. His heart raced at the implication that the entire network of platforms are falling toward the Orrean Desert to join the S.S. Libra as part of the earth. Michael returned Umbreon and shouted for Lugia for help.

The Diving Pokémon dived down toward its savior. When Lugia got close enough, Michael instinctively jumped upward into the air and landed on his Pokemon's back… backwards.

"Waah?!", Michael shouted in a panic as he clung on to one of the fins on Lugia's back, dangling into the air.

Lugia kept himself still for his trainer to gradually climb up and position himself appropriately. There was no time to waste however as Articuno was busy getting chased by Wes and his Ho-oh in their relentless attack.

"Thank you Lugia, we've got to keep going.", Michael said to his legendary Pokemon as he petted him and directed him upward.

They flew up together, but Michael naturally clinged on to Lugia's back with arms around his neck very tightly for the fear of falling was still very real to the teen.

"Sacred Shadow! With our hearts combined, we will triumph!", Eclipsed Wes announced into the sky.

Shadow Ho-oh with Wes on his back engulfed themselves in violent purple flames and dive bombed toward Lugia with Michael on his back. Articuno and Salamence were left with the cold comfort of not having gotten hit by the brutal Shadow Move in their altitude.

Michael couldn't believe Wes of all people was dive bombing towards him on his own legendary Pokémon in the sky. Lugia flew forward and dive bombed toward the fallen network of Mt. Battle's platforms to escape the attack as Michael felt as if he was riding the world's most life threatening rollercoaster for the first time. He clung on to Lugia with his life.

Lugia spread his wings wide and swooped upward. Michael withstood the G-Forces and shouted toward Articuno and Salamence, beckoning them to aid their trainer. At the same time, Wes and his Ho-oh stopped chase and flew upward toward Hoopa floating above.

"Hoopa! Hyperspace Hole!", Wes shouted toward his once passive Pokémon watching the scene from afar.

The large Pokémon and his many floating hands hovered forward toward Articuno and Salamence where they flapped in place in the sky. This disturbed Michael enough for him to draw his attention as he directed Lugia upward.

"Hoopa is attacking now?! Articuno, Ice Beam! Salamence, Crunch it!", Michael shouted at the top of his lungs.

Articuno shot an Ice Beam with all of its might, but Hoopa raised a ring forward and absorbed the hit within its void. At the same time, a ring formed behind Salamence just as it was about to fly forward to attack. Salamence noticed and swiftly dodged the potential attack that had cataclysmic effects. The Ice Beam attack narrowly missed Salamence. As fast Salamence was, it couldn't land its teeth on to Hoopa.

Michael was awestruck at what he had just seen. The attack was redirected through Hoopa's rings. The rogue Ice Beam attack was caught again by one of Hoopa's rings just as Salamence was closing in for a Crunch attack.

"Salamence! Get back!", its trainer called back, but it was already too late.

Salamence was pierced by the freezing Ice Beam attack that quickly encrusted its body up to its wings in ice. The crystallization left the Dragon and Flying type plummeting downward. Immediately Michael motioned Lugia to chase after his fainted frozen Salamence to return it to its ball posthaste.

Michael had his goggles pulled over his eyes as he felt the air resistance blinding him and blowing through his hair on his way to his Salamence. He reached his capsule forward and recalled his Salamence to the safety of its Poke Ball.

"Gotcha! Haa… That was too close…", said Michael as he could see the Realgam Tower from where Lugia has suspended itself in the sky.

A ring appeared behind Michael and Lugia. They turned to see Articuno was being slung toward them with a quick grab and throw by Hoopa's many arms. The Diving Pokémon and its trainer flapped out of its way as Articuno was forced across the air. 

The Freeze Pokémon flipped through the air before quickly trying to stabilize itself. Articuno flapped viciously before entering a gliding motion around its trainer's air space.

"Articuno! I'm glad you're alright! Follow our lead!", Michael instructed before he motioned Lugia to fly upward away from the ring.

As they flew, Hoopa summoned itself below them and Wes and his Shadow Ho-oh charged head on with a Sacred Shadow attack toward Michael and his two legendary Pokémon. Instead of running, Michael shouted a different set of commands…

"I've got an idea… I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier… Hydro Pump towards Ho-oh! Articuno, Mind Reader on Ho-oh!", Michael shouted.

"Mind Reader?!", Wes was astonished at this mention of a move as he and his Ho-oh kept their firey collision course through the volume of water shooting their way.

"Why would he… he wouldn't… would he?!.", Wes contemplated unsure of the probability of Michael setting up for a devastating combo.

Articuno focused its mind and saw through Shadow Ho-oh and Wes's intentions.

Ho-oh withstood the Hydro Pump and kept its course toward Lugia. Wes immediately directed his Pokémon toward Articuno instead. Seeing this decisive action, Michael reacted quickly.

"Ohhh no you don't! Lugia, divide him from Articuno!", Michael shouted before he and his Pokémon fly in Wes's way.

Lugia was tackled, Michael felt the impact as Wes and his Ho-oh kept forcing their way across the air toward Articuno. Articuno was ready to land its next attack.

"Articuno! SHEER COLD!", Michael shouted his command at the top of his lungs.

"NO! HOOPA!", Wes beckoned the immediate assistance of his Djinn Pokémon.

Articuno immediately flew forward and let loose an all-consuming blast of absolute zero cold. Everything turned white. Michael and Wes had whited out in the air in that moment.

The red headed teen opened his eyes to see themselves flying over a foreign ocean. Michael looked around to see an unfamiliar region of land with various islands and formations in its ocean. The biome shock made Michael lose his bearings on where they were on earth.

One island appeared to be a white crater of a former volcano. It appeared to house a small city built into its confine. Another island in the far distance appeared to house a large visible space center for launching rockets and shuttles into space. Below where Michael and Lugia hovered was an ancient tower built on a small rocky island.

"You idiot!", Wes's voice boomed from the place in the sky.

Michael turned to see his enemy on his corrupted shadowy aura ridden bird Pokémon flapping several yards away from them in the air. The Aura Reader responded once again. In Michael's sights through his visor's glass he could see Wes and Ho-oh were radiating the shadowy aura together, as if their bond closed Wes's heart as well.

"Here's your bird! Hoopa!", Wes begrudgingly ordered the transportation of Michael's missing Pokémon.

Out of a ring conjured in the air, Hoopa threw out Articuno again. This time Articuno had fainted from Hoopa's attack and was about to plummet before Michael returned it to its ball safely. Michael returned the capsule to his bag and faced Wes, unable to see his eyes through his visor.

"You cheater!", Michael verbally retaliated out of anger.

"Why didn't you use that combination earlier?! Are you just that out of touch with your Pokémon you've forgotten your own strategies? Did you even prepare for this battle?!", Wes shouted with frustration at Michael's incompetence.

"I was going to Snag your Ho-oh, but seeing as you won't let me I elected to use my secret weapon. Which you denied with your cheating Pokémon over there!", Michael explained as he pointed the blame on Hoopa silently looming nearby.

"Hmph… you're right… Well at least now we're in a new horizon… no thanks to your little trick. Any of this look familiar to you?", asked Wes as he allowed the red headed teen to gain his bearings in the new sky.

"This is the Hoenn Region… Sootpolis City's crater is just how they described it in those books the Pokémon Center in Phenac City used to have..."

"I used to know two trainers from here… they too were trainers that were on a quest to fill a Pokémon encyclopedia. I helped them find a mythical wish making Pokémon before we never spoke to each other again… It wasn't until later I realized they simply used me to find it.", Wes told the small tale he had to tell.

"You knew them too?!", Michael asked in shock.

"They're champions here, but they won't hold their titles for long after I'm through with you.", Wes said turning toward Michael with an evil eye.

"Truce is over! Sacred Shadow!"

Following the order, Ho-oh and Wes were engulfed in violet flames and flapped in place in preparation. Seeing the immediate attack, Michael and Lugia dived downward toward the ancient tower and glided forward over a small floating town in the ocean. Wes and Ho-oh gave chase leaving a trail of dark flames through the air.

"I can't believe him! Urrgghh I won't back down!", Michael thought to himself as he kept his composure.

Across Hoenn's sea, the two trainers locked in combat flew; with Michael occasionally having Lugia shoot an assortment of attacks including Hydro Pump and Areoblast back at their chasers. But Wes and his Ho-oh steadily chased them through their retaliations. Their battle has not gone unnoticed however, as people on wandering the water and populations occupying the water's edge can see the strange battle between distant champions unfold in sky.

Michael held on tight as he withstood the swift turns and swerves his Lugia made. Wes and Ho-oh's Sacred Shadow couldn't reach the red headed teen and his legendary Pokémon, so they resorted to a different tactic. Hoopa flew nearby at Wes's command.

Lugia's trainer looked back through his goggles to see a violent beam of shadowy aura flying towards them in a straight line. He immediately directed Lugia into his left direction before seeing three of Hoopa's rings fly over them. Immediately three more rings arrived, facing the Pokémon and its trainer ominously. Michael's instinct was to immediately escape the rings that surrounded their airspace.

"Shadow Beam, through the rings!", Wes commanded of his Ho-oh.

The violent beam of shadowy aura blasted through the air from Shadow Ho-oh's gray beak. But it wasn't aimed at Lugia and Michael, but instead aimed at one of Hoopa's rings. Taken by surprise, Michael found he and his Pokémon were trapped in a gauntlet of constant Shadow Beam attacks juggled by Hoopa's rings.

"L-Lugia! We have to get out of here!", Michael shouted but he was unsure how.

Lugia agreed, yet they kept rising through the cylindrical cage. The rings were constantly firing Shadow Beam attacks from Shadow Ho-oh, rerouted through Hoopa's rings. Michael and Lugia were trapped in a cage of constant Shadow Beam strikes.

"How are you going to get out of this one?", Wes asked rhetorically as he continued directing Shadow Ho-oh in further Shadow Beam attacks through Hoopa's rings.

As the beams became harder to dodge, Michael grew increasingly desperate. His heart was racing and his mind was thinking as fast as it could. He looked back down at the ocean to see the rings would disappear to continue containing them from above. The desperate trainer thought of an idea and proceeded to execute it.

Without any warning, Lugia was returned to its ball. Wes was shocked to see this sudden action as it forced Michael into a free fall. The red headed teen fell out of the cage of Hoopa's rings and nearly blacked out from seeing the ocean's surface approaching so fast before Lugia forced himself out of its ball to catch its trainer.

"… Impressive.", Wes expressed his thoughts at this unexpected maneuver.

Michael was clinging on to Lugia's back, exhausted from the battle across Hoenn's ocean. He spotted a derelict ship in the southern end of Hoenn's waters and pointed Lugia in its direction. Wes and Shadow Ho-oh followed them slowly, watching where they would land.

On the deck of the abandoned ship, Lugia landed, allowing Michael to slip off and fall flat on his back as he tried to quickly recover his stamina from clinging on to dear life in the sky. The red headed teen could see through his goggles, Wes and his dark corrupted Ho-oh absorbing the light of the sun above them.

"Ho-oh! Shadow Incarnate!"

The dark rays from Ho-oh's light touched the boat's exterior, and gave rise to three shadows once again. Michael quickly climbed back on to his Lugia's back and escaped the images of Raikou, Suicune, and Entei that immediately chased after them. Down below he could see the three shadowy auras face upward before disintegrating into nothingness.

"We need to fight back! And finish this quickly before he overwhelms us!", Michael shouted to his Lugia as he directed his Pokémon's flight toward the corrupted Rainbow Pokémon.

This time flying straight for Shadow Ho-oh, Lugia was preparing an Areoblast as Michael was preparing an Ultra Ball in his Snag Machine's palm. The two would perform a duel attack in their own way.

"Areoblast! Snag Ball!", Michael announced before Lugia shot a vortex beam toward Shadow Ho-oh while the red headed teen jumped and swung his Snag Machine-mounted arm to release the guided Snag Ball.

Shadow Ho-oh lowered itself, dodging the Areoblast while Wes jumped off of his Pokémon and dove for the orange glowing Snag Ball flying midair through the sky. As he caught the Snag Ball in his gauntlet and denied Michael's chance, the agile nemesis tackled Orre's Champion and plunged toward the ocean together.

Lugia looked down at its trainer in confusion and panic before he was struck by Shadow Ho-oh's Sacred Shadow.

Wes had his right arm around Michael as his left hand held the failed Ultra Ball. Michael couldn't break free before they entered another one of Hoopa's rings. When Michael opened his eyes, he was flat on his back with Wes staring down through his visor at him in a vast cavern littered with metal and wires. They had arrived in Undermine, standing on top of large kinetic platform much like the ones in Citadark Isle but to a far larger extent.

"Take a good look Michael, we've already found our means to create and rebuild our world…. We would make a totally safe utopia together. We could be in total control of our reality yet you still cling on to your belief that we should all just fade away?"

Michael stood up and shouted with his fists clenched in anger.

"No! If Orre is going to be revived as a hive for Shadow Pokémon production then it deserves to go! Stop this Wes! This isn't you!", Michael angrily begged.

Wes was silent. He stood looking at Michael who was panting from exhaustion as stood looking at the vast environment motioning around them. A ring formed twenty yards away from them in the air, showing Lugia flying through a cloud of smoke. The corrupted Ho-oh emerged from the same ring, giving chase across Undermine's air space.

"Michael, do you understand the power that makes Shadow Pokémon, Shadow Pokémon?", Wes questioned, provoking Michael to raise his eyebrows in curiosity.

"What?", Michael replied as Wes continued speaking with his arms crossed.

"An unrecorded element found deep under Orre. In the form of these shards… they bring out a Pokémon's hidden power at the expense of its control of its emotions and urge to fight. The ancient civilization of Orre discovered this element first, which lead to their destruction at the mercy of Ho-oh and Lugia…. But did you know that violence and superior powers are only two thirds of the potential power hidden in this science?", Wes continued explaining as Michael silently stared with his mouth open.

"What do you mean? What else is there to Shadow Pokémon?! They're fighting machines! They're sad Pokémon that can't stop fighting without a caring trainer or friends to open its heart! That's why they shouldn't exist!"

"The Shadow Pokémon we knew couldn't grow… they were resilient, but they couldn't gain experience or level up… but you know what else came with that inability to age?", Wes gave Michael a hint.

He was utterly perplexed. Despite everything he knew about Shadow Pokémon, he couldn't bring himself to understand what Wes meant. He reviewed his last words through his mind.

"… Couldn't grow… couldn't gain experience or level up… couldn't age?... age… wait a minute…", he thought to himself when he began realizing it.

Michael's expression changed. He raised his right finger up towards Wes. The red headed teen stuttered as he tried speaking.

"W-What? Y-You couldn't mean… you're not serious are you?!"

Wes silently gazed at Michael before looking on at the vast spaces in Undermine. He looked back at his foe and gave a sigh.

"Once we've established our dominion and security on this new world, we will begin finalizing our plan to secure our future…. We will never die. No one will ever have to slip away into oblivion. Only then will Orre truly be preserved and protected in this plain of existence."

"I will keep my promise... I will save Orre and secure everyone's future… but the one thing I know that can stop me is someone with as much knowledge about Shadow Pokémon and Shadow Pokémon Purification such as yourself. Kid, you wouldn't hesitate to run headfirst into one of my bases and try to completely mess up my plans, would you?", Wes asked rhetorically as Michael silently listened where he stood.

"I will deliver Cipher's new justice to the wayward League Regions and create a Shadow Pokémon army lead under Shadow Ho-oh and Shadow Lugia's wings. The absolute Power the Shadow Pokémon creation process brings out and the Power of the bond between trainer and Pokémon will be combined to form an unimaginable force capable of going any distance..."

Eclipsed Wes directed Michael's eyes toward an assortment of refineries extracting gases from deep within the crust of the planet.

"Our operations are already underway, but all we need is for you to never stand in our way again."

"Wes…", Michael beckoned with a tone.

"… Yes?", answered the foe with a curios tone.

"I can see what you're doing here… your promise to her… yet… you have to know, that everything you've ever worked for up until now will go to waste if I snag or knock out your Ho-oh..."

"Yes…", Wes confirmed.

"That was… your idea?", questioned Michael with his eyes wide open.

"… Yes…", Wes confirmed again with a hesitant expression.

"That was my idea… by the end of this battle… I would see which one of us is more righteous in their cause... and I would surrender to you if you managed to win… just like the pact said."

Michael raised his Snag Machine arm and armed it with another Ultra Ball in its palm. Lugia was flying toward the floating platform with Shadow Ho-oh, engulfed in violet flames, close behind it with a Sacred Shadow attack.

"Perfect.", said Michael before quickly throwing a glowing Snag Ball toward Shadow Ho-oh.

The homing Snag Ball opened up and released its orange light. Its hand-like shape forced Shadow Ho-oh into its capsule before the ball closed and fell to the surface of the platform. Michael and Wes watched as the Snag Ball shook back and forth.

"One…", Michael counted the first shake before proceeding with the rest.

The ball shook again.

"Two…"

The ball shook once more.

"Three!..."

The Ultra Ball suddenly exploded and the Shadow Ho-oh escaped from its Snag Ball. The corrupted bird Pokémon with its constantly shedding shadowy feathers stood beside its trainer, the both of them looking at Michael with malevolence in their eyes.

"Shoot!", Michael loudly lamented his chance at ending this conflict as he put both of his hands up to his forehead.

"Hmph… I think we should conclude this battle somewhere more fitting don't you think?", suggested Wes with a scowl.

"To a historical place where the most intense battles of the ancient Orrean civilization likely unfolded… to the Orre Colosseum! Hoopa! Take us there!"

Rings formed in front of the two trainers and their Pokémon. Through the portals, the Orre Colosseum's stadium could be seen. Wes stepped through first before Shadow Ho-oh flew through its designated ring. Michael hesitantly followed through his and Lugia glided forward on to the dusty ancient place.

There they were standing at opposite sides of the Orre Colosseum at a sunset. In the far horizon, the crescent moon could be seen on the orange flowing sky. Michael looked around to see his Lugia roost beside him before looking toward Wes and his Shadow Ho-oh awaiting patiently for this final phase of their fight. Where Michael stood, the large finger-like stone spires of the colosseum loomed beside the viewing stands.

"Michael, I've felt like I have indeed cheated you earlier with your tactic.", Wes spoke out.

"Huh?", Michael reacted slightly confused.

"Your tactic with Articuno's Sheer Cold. I will remove Hoopa from this last battle completely to make up for it. He will be assigned to personnel transportation in Mirmat in Undermine… you hear me Hoopa?", Wes called to his seventh Party Pokémon.

Hoopa poked his large intimidating head out of a ring to give its master a nod before disappearing with the ring completely. Wes turned back to Michael before he gave Michael a gesture to begin in this one-versus-one battle.

"Lugia! Hydro Pump!", shouted Michael, pointing his finger forward.

Shadow Ho-oh flapped his wings to fly upward. The Hydro Pump attack failed to hit and left the battlefield drenched in water.

Lugia flapped upward and began gaining speed once Shadow Ho-oh began using Sacred Shadow to chase it. But the brutal attack landed, leaving Lugia severely weakened.

"Lugia! Psycho Boost!"

In a swift moment, Lugia prepared a powerful sphere of energy and released it toward Shadow Ho-oh. The corrupted Rainbow Pokémon was struck despite its attempt to dodge it; leaving it nearly as weak as Lugia. The recoil of the Psycho Boost attack left the Diving Pokémon's offensive capabilities weakened.

"I have to do this now or I'll never get my chance!", Michael said to himself as he began preparing a new Snag Ball with an Ultra Ball.

Eclipsed Wes watched silently as Michael swung his Ultra Ball and attempted another snag attempt again.

Lugia watched from above as the Ultra Ball containing Ho-oh began shaking as Snag attempts usually do.

It shook once. It shook twice. It exploded and released Shadow Ho-oh standing with its dark wings spread wide on the ancient stone floor, facing Michael and Lugia again.

"Again! Snag Ball!", Michael shouted with his continued determination.

He swung his Snag Machine arm again. The Snag Ball sealed Shadow Ho-oh in its capsule once again. And again for the third time, it began shaking.

It shook once. It shook twice. The Ultra Ball then exploded and released Ho-oh mimicking the last failed attempt once again.

"Shadow Wisps!", Wes commanded of his Pokémon.

The Shadow Ho-oh flapped its wings and conjured five violet shadowy balls of flames floating in the air. The wisps quickly flew and made contact with Lugia, dealing super affective impacts and inflicting a Burn status.

Lugia was nearly ready to collapse from where he flapped his wide wings in the air. Michael felt his heart race as he knew the odds were stacking against him. He looked to his Lugia who had his fierce eyes twitching from the pain of the Burn.

"What will I do?! I… I could Snag him or…. Wait a second… I still have my Umbreon, healthy and in its ball!", Michael realized as he patted his waist bag.

"I could use the turn to heal Lugia, then keep trying to snag it or weaken it with Umbreon…"

Shadow Ho-oh was standing beside Wes very patiently. Michael couldn't understand why, but as he looked at Ho-oh standing with its fierce eyes looking into him; the urge to throw another Snag Ball at it grew louder and louder in his mind. It was as if there was a voice inside his head telling him to take the shot. He prepared another Ultra Ball and immediately swung for it.

"SNAG BALL!", Michael shouted with great vigor as he swung it like a pitcher at a baseball game.

The Shadow Ho-oh silently watched the ball fly forward before its trainer quickly intercepted and caught it. Before Michael could react, Wes had flung back the glowing orange Snag Ball toward Lugia with his gauntlet-mounted left hand.

Mind shattered and lungs suddenly filled with air at the large gasp Michael took once he witnessed his own Lugia inside an enemy Snag Ball that was once his own. The Ultra Ball fell to the ancient ground and began shaking. Michael stood over it with his hands up to his temples in fear and disbelief!

"L-LUGIA!", Michael called out with great dread and panic.

His heart raced as he counted the shakes the Ultra Ball went through. A heavy feeling sunk into his chest as he watched.

It shook once.

It shook twice.

It shook three times…

…Click!

Michael has lost his Lugia.

"Kchk….?! L-Lugia…", Michael couldn't speak.

He felt his heart suddenly feel the sharp pain of having failed a friend.

"You…. You snagged my Lugia…. Your gauntlet is a… it can't be!"

Wes stepped forward as Michael silently stepped backwards. He looked up to see the expression on Wes's face. He didn't seem to take any joy from this achievement. The sound of his footsteps reverberated throughout the ancient open Colosseum as he approached the capsule. Wes picked up the Ultra Ball and watched it disappear without a trace.

He took a moment to look at the young hero in distress. Michael looked back with his eyes glistening with small tears beginning to well up.

"When did you… Did you build a new Snag Machine?!"

Wes shook his head as he shined the Neo Evolution key stone embedded into his gauntlet. He wouldn't respond, instead he faced Michael with a question.

"That wasn't your last Pokémon was it? Tch…", Wes deducted keeping a frown.

Michael kept himself silent as he was clenching both of his fists.

"Do you admit defeat?", Wes questioned tilting his head a little as he stared him down.

"No… No I… Umbreon!", Michael closed his eyes as he reluctantly sent out his father's Pokémon.

Umbreon stood between Michael and the two foes. Wes looked down at his opponents Pokemon. He sighed and held his right hand over his heart. Shadow Ho-oh growled and motioned toward its trainer in response before Wes lifted his hand off of his chest and stood tall toward the opponent.

"Shadow Incarnate…", Wes called forth the next attack.

Shadow Ho-oh flew up high and gave rise to three shadowy images of Suicune, Raikou, and Entei once again. Umbreon stood looking back at its trainer. Michael felt his emotions racing but he was completely unsure on how he would finish this fight.

"Umbreon...", Michael muttered the name of his last Pokémon.

The shadowy trio began rushing toward Umbreon all at one by one.

In a flash, Umbreon was laying before his trainer, barely conscious. The Pokémon's ears were flopped over his face as various visible scars from the battle shown itself in the orange light of the coming dusk.

Michael couldn't feel his heart beat. He felt only despair and deep sense of failure for the people and Pokémon who counted on him. He knelt forward and held his Umbreon to his chest. As he embraced his Pokémon, he could hear his foe stepping forward on the ancient stone arena's floor.

The Shadowy Images of Suicune, Raikou, and Entei dissipated. Eclipsed Wes of Cipher stood over his opponent as Shadow Ho-oh landed behind him. Wes looked down at Michael and his Pokemon as Ho-oh waited patiently.

"This… This is….", the red headed teen couldn't finish his sentence before Wes cut him off.

"This is the moment Cipher has finally been made whole again…"

Umbreon closed his eyes as the glow of his rings grew dimmer and dimmer until the light faded completely.

Michael was out of useable Pokémon!

He sat holding on to his father's Pokémon as he felt the weight in his bag begin to lift. He was on the verge of tears before he could sense the entirety of PC Boxes and virtual environments emptied of all the Pokémon he saved.

"You've done your part Michael… you can keep your Umbreon...", Eclipsed Wes proclaimed.

As Michael knelt holding on to his last Pokémon, he looked back up to see Wes's expression under his visor. The defeated hero couldn't fathom this feeling he had. He wished he could just blackout and wake up at a Pokémon center, but this wasn't a dream he could wake up from.

"My mission…. Our mission… is to never let Orre slip away into oblivion.", the victor announced as he stepped about looking at the skies and horizons around the Orre Colosseum.

"Those ugly heartless people in the league regions… we'll plant our seeds under their foundations. We'll dethrone every so-called 'champion' and leave their worlds to rot."

Michael wasn't listening, as he was busy preparing another Snag Ball behind his back as he held his Umbreon with his right arm.

"Michael… Of all the people I've met, you're the one I respect the most. I honestly wish that we could have been friends way back then…", Wes admitted as he looked back at Michael during his speech.

"That is why I won't be turning any of your Pokémon besides your Lugia into Shadow Pokémon… they will all be protected in my sanctuary as they deserve to be..."

Shadow Ho-oh looked at Michael with a menacing glare. Michael quietly returned his Umbreon to its ball before jumping up to throw his charged Snag Ball. But as he was about to release, Wes intercepted and caught his hand with his left gauntlet. Michael froze in place with his arm clutched and shaking as he was denied his last ditch effort to snag the corrupted legendary Pokémon. As his arm was caught, Michael threw his free arm at Wes before he was blown back by a gust of Shadow Ho-oh's wings.

The defeated hero had his back against the wall of the ancient stadium. The red headed teen couldn't bring himself to pick himself back up off the floor. The tide has turned against him, and when he opened his vision once more he could see the palm of Wes's gloved gauntlet mounted arm suddenly blot out his vision.

Michael couldn't react quickly enough. He raised his hands up to pry Wes's hand off of his forehead. But despite his struggle, he felt himself losing consciousness.

"Please… don't…", Michael begged before he slowly felt his vision go black.

"It will be alright Michael… I promise you, everything will be alright.", Wes hushed.

Wes raised himself back up as he kept his eyes on the peacefully sleeping kid. Wes raised his left gloved hand and made a fist as he stood triumphant. He turned back to his Shadow Ho-oh who had nodded in agreement with its master.

"The dream is over… and upon awakening, we will be reborn as one unified Orre Region. Under Cipher, under… us…. And with your help, they will never see us coming…. But until then… sleep well my friend."

Footsteps could be heard from the nearbye entrance. Wes and Ho-oh both turned to see where the noise was coming from.

"Who goes there?!", Wes called out before stepping forward to investigate the entryway.

As he approached the footsteps stopped. Shadow Ho-oh grew increasingly agitated as he could feel the presence of something ancient approaching. Eclipsed Wes of Cipher calmly walked back to his Pokémon as he cautiously looked about the stadium. The stands were empty and the darkness was starting to fall.

"… Nascour!", Wes called into his radio.

"Announce the defeat of their hero and begin their extraction.", he commanded.

"I will comply…", Nascour answered in his ear piece.

"And bring Hoopa to the Orre Colosseum's co-ordinates. I have someone I want to take to safety…"

Shadow Ho-oh silently growled as its bright red pupil-lacking eyes spotted something. Wes turned around to see an Umbreon standing between him and Michael. Umbreon appeared to be even more furious as it looked up at Wes. It stood snarling and barking at him for the events that have taken place today.


End file.
